The Musician
by Vannen Shantel
Summary: The Host Club has a new member. Will the pianist affect the group in anyway whatsoever or will the music provided by said person fade into the background with no purpose? Chapter 12 is up (Finally)!
1. Enter Aiden

Vannen: This is new for me... Oh well. Let's have a little fun with it. This is my first Ouran Hich School Host Club (noted as OHSHC from now on) fic. I hope all of you enjoy it. Please correct me if I get anything wrong and pardon the first chapter a little. I know it's a bit like when Haruhi came into the group, but I promise, no adventures will be repeated. I just had a little trouble coming up with something different. Granted, none of the situations are the same as Haruhi, but, well, you'll get the idea if you read. Have fun all and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own OHSHC and never will (sadly). I do however own the character introduced in this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 1 

Enter Aiden

Ootori Kyouya, as usual, was the first to reach the Third Music Room of Ouran Academy. As his hand wrested against the doorknob, a sound caught his attention, pulling him out of his musings of new ideas on how to get money. He easily identified the noise as a piano. Knowing everything that went on in the school, he realized Tamaki must have reached there before him and was playing for some reason. But then, Tamaki didn't know any Rachmaninoff, and especially not the piece he heard. Tamaki preferred light, happy, warm melodies, not the dark, sinister ones characteristic of the composer. He opened the door to see who played inside the Host Club's meeting room.

A young boy with slightly messy chestnut brown hair sat at the piano, his back to the door. He leaned forward, adding the weight of his upper body to the heavy chords. He didn't seem that old but was obviously one of the high school students. No one got into the middle schools on academic scholarships as this one obviously did. The clothing wasn't as bad as Haruhi's had been when she'd first arrived in their lives, but it did drape across his thin frame and didn't match the school's uniform in the least.

"Excuse me," Kyouya called after a moment of securitization. Who was this boy? He'd never seen him before. "Can I help you?"

The youth's hands dropped away from the keys and they spun to stare at Kyouya with large green-hazel eyes hidden behind a pair of square-rimmed glasses for a moment before jumping from the bench and bowing. "I'm so sorry," he managed through his nervousness, his voice a very quiet tenor with a strange accent to it. "I thought no one would be using this room. The professor said no one played here at this time and that it probably wouldn't be a problem. I'll leave immediately."

"Hold on a moment," Kyouya ordered gently, giving a neutral smile. "You must be Scadden Aiden, the new transfer student from Ireland, correct?"

"Yes, sir," the boy bowed again before turning to pick up his books.

"Ah, thought so," Kyouya murmured and flipped open his computer, looking through the information he had on the new student that had entered a few weeks before. It was limited. "I could get more information now, I guess," he thought. "Excuse me," he repeated to the youth gaining his attention. Aiden turned form gathering his books to look at Kyouya in questioning. "You entered this school on a scholarship, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Piano?"

"And academic."

"Why do-"

"Kyo-chan! You're already here!"

"Yes, Hani-senpai. "Why are you here so soon? Was your kendo practice cancelled, Mori-senpai?"

"Yep!" Hani interjected. "So we decided we'd come here early to see what we could do to help you or whoever was here."

"Thank you Hani-senpai, Mor-senpai." Kyouya gave them one of his characteristic smiles that didn't give any of his thoughts or feelings away. The door behind him opened again and Tamaki appeared.

"Kyouya! Is everything ready for today?" he called, stepping through the doorway and around Mori. He paused in his progress when he saw Aiden hefting the bag of piano books onto his shoulder before scanning the room for anything he might be forgetting. "Hello," Tamaki greeted. "Who are you?"

Aiden spun to look at the one addressing him. "Sorry," he managed again with a slightly off balance bow. "I'm Scadden Aiden. I'll be leaving now." He started towards the door. He started towards the door.

"Hold on a moment Scadden-san," Kyouya requested. He turned to Tamaki and whispered with him a moment. Tamaki murmured back before Kyouya gave him a meaningful look. The blond glanced over his shoulder, shrugged, and turned away from his friend.

"Kyouya tells me you're a good pianist," Tamaki stated nonchalantly. He continued before Aiden could protest. "Don't be modest!" he chided. "Kyouya knows what he talks about."

Aiden remained silent and squinted at the smiling youth through his glasses. His vision didn't improve any.

"I would like to place a proposition before you," Kyouya took over. "Tamaki has already established his role in our club and therefore has lost his chance to help out in the way I've been pondering over. I think you could make us a great deal of the money we require to function as a club should you agree."

Aiden nodded, indicating he understood.

"How would you like to play this piano everyday?"

The bag almost slipped form Aiden's hand when he jumped at the sudden change of topic. "I would like to," he replied quietly, his eyes drifting to the mirror-bright black instrument he'd just left.

"It's settled then!" Tamaki cried. "You'll become the musician for the Host Club! Who knows, you may even get some designations."

"Host Club?" he asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"Aiden-chan! Aiden-chan!" Hani jumped forward happily, tugging on the taller youth's arm. "You're going to play the piano for us?"

"You're not roping someone else into your scheme, are you Tamaki-senpai?" Haruhi asked, poking her head into the room.

"Haruhi! How could you say something so mean to your daddy?" Tamaki whined, tears coming to his eyes.

"Calm down, my lord!" the twins coaxed simultaneously from behind Haruhi when they entered.

"And what's this about a musician?" Hikaru demanded while his brother nodded in agreement.

"Aiden-chan's going to play the piano for us," Hani told them happily. Each face turned towards the fore mentioned boy.

"I'm not that good, really," he admonished sincerely, shaking his head and trying to avoid their gazes.

"We'll judge that," Tamaki grinned. "Play for us Scadden-kun."

With a sigh, Aiden sat back down on the black bench. "Anyone have a request?" he asked.

"Do you know the duet of the Montague's and the Capulet's?" Tamaki asked sitting at the other piano in the room.

"Piano one or two?" Aiden returned.

"Two?"

"Yes." He pulled out some sheet music, tossed one set to Tamaki and placed the other one on his own piano, and positioned his hands quickly before he started the melancholy rhythm. Tamaki joined in after a few beats and they playe,d each keeping perfect pace with the other. Periodically, Aiden would push his glasses up his nose with a middle finger as he studied the music before him and his hands, making sure they hit the right notes in the correct sequence. Tamaki noticed and nodded at Kyouya who in turn reached over Aiden's shoulder and slid the glasses off the boy's nose.

Immediately, Aiden's eyes closed but he refused to stop playing. The piece finally ended and Kyouya handed Aiden's glasses back.

"Why'd you take them?" Aiden demanded as he picked up a pencil and wrote on his music, glasses firmly in place.

"You looked ridiculous, pushing them continually up your nose," Tamaki informed him. "Why do you wear them anyway? Why not get contacts?"

"I only need them to read." He glanced up before looking back at his music.

"I think you passed, Aiden-chan!" Hani jumped up onto the bench to give the boy a hug.

"Indeed," Kyouya concurred calmly.

"My lord! My lord!" the twins cried as they came up on either side of Tamaki. "If Aiden-kun's going to be associated with the Host Club, isn't a change of wardrobe in order?"

"Absolutely!" Tamaki agreed. "Kyouya, go to the nurse's office and get a better pair of glasses that fit and look decent. Haruhi, get the spare uniform. More-senpai, Hani-senpai, get the best hair dresser you can. Time is limited! Go!"

"What should we do?" the twins demanded.

"Get things ready for the opening today. No cos-play, just the usual."

"Yes sir!" They saluted and the entire group scattered, Haruhi taking Aiden's wrist gently and leading him away. Before he knew it, Aiden found himself in a new uniform, being fitted for new glasses in a style very different from his square, black-rimmed ones. Looking at them, he panicked.

"There is no way those will last the semester!" he protested in his soft voice, almost afraid to speak. "I'll break them."

"Of course not," Kyouya told him and took the glasses form the nurse. He bent them in half at the nose piece. When he let go, they sprang back into place, no damage evident. He did the same to the ear pieces before turning them into a circle. Each time they would spring back into their original form. "They're practically indestructible. All you have to worry about is the lenses and they're scratch resistant." He handed them to Aiden.

Tentatively, he placed the rimless objects on his nose and blinked up at Kyouya, noting their glasses now mirrored each others.

"Those look better." Haruhi smiled at Aiden.

He returned in with a tiny, timid one of his own. Soon, Mori and Hani appeared with a man between them.

"Aiden-chan needs the haircut," Hani told the man.

"Very good, Haninozuka-sama," the man bowed before setting his bag down on the table next to Aiden's chair. He whipped out a tarp and secured it swiftly and tightly around the youth's neck. After a quick washing, hair started to fall from his head as scissors worked their way through his hair.

The Host Club was in full swing by the time Aiden reentered the Third Music room. Kyouya spotted him immediately and approached him, scanning his form with critical onyx eyes. "Better," he said. "You might pass as one of us now."

"Who's us?" Aiden wondered silently, "All you rich idiots?"

"Feel free to practice all you want right now," Kyouya told him. "But please, keep it to pieces in major keys that are lighter. One of Diabelli's sonatas would be a good start. Just try to adapt your repertoire to the current mood around you."

"Oh, joy," Aiden thought a little sarcastically. Now I have to play to people's emotions. I hope this is worth it." He sat at the piano and started playing, small hands gliding swiftly across the keys. A few girls gathered around leaning forward to hear better. When he finished the first piece, swooning could be heard.

"Scadden-kun."

He looked up at Tamaki who had called his name.

"Play something by Chopin for us, please."

Aiden smirked. "You asked for it and no one tells me the style I can play in," he thought with a sidelong glance at Kyouya. After tugging a book out of his bag, he found the piece he wanted and placed it on the stand. In seconds, the mournful chords of Chopin's Prelude in b minor sounded through the room. Girl's abandoned their posts near the other hosts to come listen, most of which had surrounded Tamaki. Aiden met his slightly irritated gaze over the top of his glasses, the smirk still in place. When he finished girls sighed in a myriad of emotions and Hani climbed onto the bench next to Aiden.

"Play something happy?" he begged a pout on his lips. "Please?"

"Alright," Aiden said after a moment's thought, smiling down at the small senior, "but only if you smile." Hani did as requested, bouncing a little before he moved so he was sitting on Aiden's lap as the taller youth started a happier piece by Chopin, just to quell some of Tamaki's anger.

Mori stood behind them, studying Aiden's hands as they moved gracefully across the black and white keys, his brow furrowed slightly in thought.

When the piece ended he leaned over the side of him and plucked Hani from his lap. Aiden's gaze met his and Mori raised one eyebrow at the musician's face that let one of his own raise in return. Mori nodded and pulled Hani the rest of the way away.

The next day when Aiden entered the Third Music Room, he jumped in surprise. The entire Host club was dress in various sport uniforms. The twins hand an arm slung around each other's shoulders as they whispered conspiratorially, dressed in identical basketball uniforms. Kyouya wore black pants and a hooded sweatshirt with the word "coach" scrawled across the chest, his normal ledge on a clipboard and a whistle around his neck. Tamaki sat in his normal seat at the center of the group wearing a baseball uniform, a bat resting easily in his hand as if it were a cane. Haruhi stood off to the side, sulking in an American football uniform, the helmet under her heavily padded arm. Mori and Hani stood off to the side, the shorter in a track uniform complete with sweatbands around his wrists and forehead while his protector stared calmly at the world in a pair of running pants, a t-shirt, and an open jacket with the word "trainer" across the back.

"Just in time," Kyouya told Aiden. "There's a uniform for you in the preparation room. Hurry before the guests arrive."

"Uniform?" Aiden wondered but went into the room without a word, staying silent as usual. He returned minutes later in a soccer player's gear, complete with shin guards and holding a pair of cleats in his hand. "Can't play with them on," he told the group simply when they gave him questioning looks before going to the piano to warm up before the customers appeared.

As the day continued, Aiden relaxed and the group soon found that the music he played did keep the mood relaxed or could change it, depending on what he played. It seemed the day before had been a bit of a trial run and now people were getting used to the presence of the music.

"Scadden-san," Kyouya approached him. "You have a designation. Would you like to accept it?"

"Sure," the boy said calmly, slightly lost in the music he played. A girl about his age sat next to him soon enough.

"You play wonderfully," she told him with a smile.

"I'm really not that good," he responded with a half smile, readjusting his glasses on his nose and turning a few pages for the next piece. "I'm sorry," he said soon, "I don't know your name."

The girl told him and he complimented her on it and asking a few questions, trying to get her to talk so he could listen with one ear and concentrate on his playing with the other. It worked and she was soon talking amiably about how she loved music and who her favorite composers were. One in particular caught his attention. Feeling kind, he pulled out another book and started playing as she chatted. It took mere seconds for her to realize.

"Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata," she breathed happily. "You're so sweet to play it!"

"You bet I am," Aiden thought but still offered a kind smile to the girl. "I've gotten tired of people always requesting Beethoven or Chopin." Out loud he told her, "You did say you liked it."

She blinked a little before bursting into a huge smile, full of admiration. She talked for a while longer before Kyouya announced the change of shift. She bid Aiden farewell and he gave a silent sigh of relief at her retreating back. Maybe he could get some real practicing done. It would have to wait as the bespectacled boy came and sat on the bench next to him.

"Do you think you can handle designations?" he asked quietly, his eyes still on the room around him as his pen scribble away.

"Just as long as they don't keep suggesting pieces by Chopin, Mozart, or Beethoven. They're not the only composers in the world, but it seems they're the only ones people know about." His eyes darkened as he stared at the piece before him. His fingering faltered and he went back to correct it, playing it ten times over perfectly before continuing on.

Kyouya chuckled at his comment. "Try to keep a level head and I'll keep your designation amounts down. Oh, and I've had a few requests for you to give lessons. Up for that?"

"Do I get paid?"

Kyouya blinked at the response and how cold it had been, almost like what his would have, if a little more bluntly than he would have phrased it.

"Don't give me that look, Ootori-senpai. I'm a poor commoner as you lot would probably put it. I can't give lessons unless they're beneficial to me. Otherwise, my focus is on my own music."

Kyouya smirked. "I'll make sure they pay you. Also, we'll alternate lesson and designation days so you're not swamped with both."

Aiden nodded, barely paying attention to him now as he continued his work. Soon, another designation approached him and sat next to him and once again, he listened with one ear and worked on his music with his other.

Once the doors closed at the end of the day, Kyouya had a slight smirk on his face. This new boy Aiden was bringing in more designations than he could have hoped with his piano skills and his foreign accent. What was it about girls and accents? It didn't matter as long as it drew more to the Host Club and more money into their use.

The others changed as Haruhi waited and Aiden continued practicing, finally being able to fully concentrate on the piece he desperately needed to learn. The other members exited the preparation room, all in street clothes and Haruhi entered to change herself.

"Aren't you going to change to go home, Aiden-chan?" Hani asked.

"I think I'll practice a bit longer," the boy replied. "Can I ask something without getting in trouble?"

"Depends on what you're going to ask," Kyouya responded, his head still in his ledger.

"Is Haruhi-san female?" A stony silence met his question. "If you're worried that I'll tell someone, don't be. I won't say a word."

"Good," Tamaki said. "I'd hate for you to sully my precious daughter's reputation and kaasan really hates having to send out the family's private police to handle such matters." His look was uncharacteristically serious and almost angry.

"'kaasan?'" Aiden asked, writing on his music.

"We've deduced that he is referring to Kyouya-senpai," Kaoru said. "It's a strange thing but that's our lord for you."

"Ah, well. I won't tell," Aiden replied and played some more before again writing on his music, muttering something about bad fingering notation. The rest turned to leave, leaving Haruhi still changing in the preparation room and Aiden still working.

Haruhi finally exited, her face finally relaxing when she noticed that the others, including Tamaki were gone.

"Something wrong, Haruhi-san?" Aiden inquired.

"I'm just glad Tamaki-senpai left. I needed some time to study today. Do you mind if I stay in here?"

"Not at all." The two lapsed into silence and all that could be heard was Aiden's playing and Haruhi's pen scratching. Both worked calmly on their work and finally Aiden pulled his books off the stand. He stood and stretched his back, arching it backwards. Haruhi glanced up at the same moment and quickly met Aiden's eyes, one eyebrow raised in question. Aiden returned it with one of his own.

"I'm going home," he informed Haruhi after he'd changed. "I'll see you tomorrow I guess." He left, leaving the girl to her work, a smile on her lips.

The next day dawned and the group worked quickly and well on their studies until they were finally able to go to the Host Club with the exception of Mori and Hani as Mori went to kendo and Hani waited for him there.

"Designations today?" Kyouya asked Aiden.

He looked up with a glare. "No."

He left with a shrug, making a mental excuse for it. Hani and Mori finally showed up, the smaller sitting on the taller youth's shoulders, a goofy grin on his face. He was sat down near one of the couches. Mori smiled down at his charge, happy because Hani was. The day progressed and slowly, everyone (except the slightly dense so-called "king" of the club) noticed Aiden's dark mood. Hani, in an attempt to cheer up his friend approached with two slices of cake, one chocolate, the other strawberry.

"Aiden-chan," he asked tentatively and almost backed down when the musician sighed in exasperation and looked down at the senior. "Would you eat a piece of cake with me?" he inquired after plucking up his courage.

Aiden spotted the two plates Hani carried and sighed again, this time an expression of relief on his face. "Is that chocolate?" he asked wistfully.

Hani smiled and nodded, making a sound in the affirmative direction.

"I would love a slice of chocolate anything right now," Aiden told him earnestly. Hani handed him the cake and jumped onto the bench next to him, holding his slice of strawberry cake carefully before starting on devouring it. As he ate, he caught Aiden's gaze and let one delicate eyebrow rise. He received the same expression in return.

"Thanks for sharing this with me," Aiden said earnestly after he swallowed a bite. "I really needed it." He finished off the slice and picked up another piano book. Something occurred to him. "Do you want me to play something for you?" he wondered quietly so that only the tiny young man could hear.

"Something happy," Hani suggested.

Aiden smiled kindly and flipped a few pages before playing a jig type piece that had Hani grinning from ear to ear as he finished off the last bit of his strawberry cake.

Hani went back over to Mori with that huge childish grin on his face. The two spoke quietly for a moment, well Hani spoke and Mori would nod his head in agreement muttering an "Ah" here and there.

Once again, Aiden stayed after all the guests left to get some practicing in. The twins however had different ideas. They stopped behind him, taking their usual stance of an arm around the others shoulder, leaning on each other. "Aiden-kun," they chorused, the playful nature evident in their voices.

"Go away, I have work to do," Aiden deadpanned.

The twins smirked at each other before grabbing the boy off the bench and lifting him bodily between them, as he kicked and growled at them to put him down. They easily marched out the door with him between them.

"You're coming with us," they chorused and tossed him in their limo out front before climbing in after him.

"Thick skulled, rich nimrods," Aiden growled darkly as he righted himself. He then addressed the twins directly. "Where are you taking me?"

"To our mom's studio," Hikaru told him. "We told her about you and she decided to design an entire line of performance clothes for you. She wants you to try them on so she can see how they look."

"Lucky me," Aiden grumbled and sat back in his seat to wait for them to arrive wherever it was they were going. Twenty minutes later, the limo stopped and the trio got out. Aiden tried to run but the twins caught him and hefted him into their mother's studio.

"Hikaru, Kaoru," their mother greeted kindly when they entered.

"We got him," they chorused and held Aiden up a little higher.

"I can see that," she smiled. "Put him down, I doubt he'll run." She smiled warmly at the three but especially at Aiden.

"We will," Kaoru smiled, "but in the other room. The clothes are in there, right?"

"Yes dear." She turned to work on something else and the twins carted Aiden into another room. They set him down in there and Hikaru held his shoulders so he wouldn't run while Kaoru looked through all the clothes for what Aiden should try on first. He walked towards him, a devilish grin on his face and a black and white formal tux in his hand.

"Fine!" Aiden snapped. "I'll try it on." He snatched the clothes forom him, pulled out of his brother's grip, and retreated towards a door with the label "changing room" hanging above it. The twins glanced at each other and shrugged. Minutes later Aiden walked back out, fixing his tie.

"You know how to tie a tie?" Hikaru asked and made a face at how ridiculous that phrase sounded before an eyebrow rose, his brother's face mirroring his almost comically.

Aiden's own eyebrows rose at them and growled, "Of course. It's not that hard."

"Must be a commoner thing," Kaoru remarked with a shrug and tugging at the object around his neck. "kaasan's waiting though. Let's go." He and Hikaru once again grabbed Aiden's elbows and lifted him off his feet. The same routine repeated for a few hours as the Hitachiin twin's mother fussed over the clothing line before Aiden was finally released to return to his dorm room at the school and relax.

"Has anyone seen Scadden-kun today?" Tamaki asked when he entered the Third Music Room the next day. He was met with a series of looks that said they hadn't.

"I received a report that Scadden-san is ill and hasn't left the dorms at all today," Kyouya said simply, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Really?" Kaoru and Kikaru asked.

"That's strange considering Aiden-kun was fine when we left yesterday," Kaoru added. "My lord, should we go check?"

"Of course!" Tamaki cried. "As soon as club functions are over for the day, we will pay the poor child a visit." And thus, they did. Once the last of the young women left that afternoon, the group trooped over to the dormitories Aiden lived in and up to said person's room.

"Scadden-kun!" Tamaki called, knocking on the door. "May we come in?" He didn't receive a reply. Worried, he tried the handle and found it unlocked. He pushed the door open, the entire club behind him.

"Oi! Beat it!" the Irish youth snarled sitting up in bed. "I was sleeping." He yawned to prove his point.

Tamaki gaped. "You're- you're a girl," he accused just now noting the small amount of bust that the old t-shirt displayed with its draping fit.

"Last time I checked," Aiden retorted sarcastically and flopped back onto her pillows. "Everyone else figured it out, what took you so long?"

"You all knew?" He seemed ready to collapse into a fit of tears. Everyone nodded. "How? When?"

"I can tell you the when for all and the how for a few," Aiden retorted. "Ootori-senpai knew from the beginning," Kyouya nodded. "Mori-senpai figured it out the first day I acted as musician, how I don't know."

"Your hands," the senior said simply.

"That would be it. My hands are really small, too small to be a guy's. Haruhi-san figured it out next, when I stretched my back after practicing. She probably noticed a few things through my shirt." Harhi nodded. "Hani-senpai figured it out yesterday when he gave me the slice of cake. Not many guys show such relief at being offered chocolate."

"That's right!" Hani smiled.

"And the twins got the idea when I refused to change in the room with them present when they took me to their mother's studio."

"She's right my lord," Kaoru said.

"This seems to be a lot like when Haruhi joined us as a host except without an expensive broken vase and an enormous debt." Hikaru added with a shrug.

"That's all well and good," Aiden snarled, "but would you all get out? I need more sleep before I'm going to function properly."

"But Aiden-kun, we want to help," Tamaki whined, not noting he had used her given name instead of her family name.

"You can help by leaving me to sleep. Get out!" She threw a spare pillow at him before rolling away from them.

"But-"

"Beat it!" She sat up and glared as darkly as Kyouya could muster.

The group practically ran out of the room. Only Kyouya, Mori and Hani (who was sitting on Mori's shoulders) left at a more sedate pace.

"Get feeling better Aiden-chan!" Hani smiled and waved. Kyouya nodded and Mori made a sound of agreement as they left.

"What can we do about this?" Tamaki inquired, looking at Kyouya when they'd all returned to the music room.

"We continue things the way we always have. We'll do for her what we did for Haruhi," Koura interrupted before Kyouya could respond, his face cheerful.

"I say we push her out now before we get the complications," Hikaru snapped. "We don't need to fight to keep her in here. She's not one of us."

"Neither is Haruhi," his brother reminded softly. Hikaru glared at his twin.

"We had a good thing going before she came. Why do we need a musician anyway?" He wouldn't give up. "I don't want to have to work that hard to keep her secret safe when we're already fighting to keep Haruhi's."

"Enough," Kyouya said, casting an icy look on the bickering duo. "In this instance, Kaoru is right. She brings in more designations everyday and she's only been working for us for three days. She doesn't threaten anyone's position and she's going to keep this club afloat with the designations she receives. We need to keep her with us or we'll loose money."

"Besides, she sets the mood," Hani added seriously.

"Ah." Mori nodded.

"Nothing has changed for us but we've forced her into a difficult position and it's our fault," Tamaki said. "For all the student population knows, Aiden-kun is a boy, just like my precious daughter." He cast a quick glance at Haruhi. "If we expose her now, she'll be accused of lying, deceit, false pretenses, and so on and so forth. She's here on a piano and academic scholarship and if such accusations reach the faculty, she'll loose it and be expelled. We must keep this secret for her sake. It's our fault for brining her into the club without finding out for sure.

"Kyouya, you should have told us."

"As with Haruhi," the bespectacled youth said, "I thought you already knew. You really can be very dense sometimes Tamaki." He pushed his glasses up his nose again.

Tamaki pouted for a moment before regaining scope of the situation. He looked at the group around him. "Haruhi, you're the only one that hasn't said anything about this."

"I like her," Haruhi said simply, "and she does bring in more designations, not just looking for her, but for all of us. She's nice and doesn't say unnecessary things. I don't want her to have to loose her scholarship and her music does calm me down. I say we let her stay."

"It's settled then," Tamaki concluded. "Scadden Aiden is an official member of the Host Club and we will do our best to hide her secret that we unwittingly forced her to have. This is our fault and we will take the consequences."

The door slammed as Hikaru stormed out. Kaoru started to go after him.

"No," Haruhi said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'll go. I think he's mostly angry at me." She left, not seeing the slightly hurt but understanding look Kaoru wore.

"Hikaru!" Haruhi called, racing after him. He stopped and turned waiting for her. She caught up and stopped in front of him, breathing a little heavier than normal. "Talk to me about this," she requested. "Is there some reason you don't want Aiden-kun to be in the club?"

Hikaru stared at the girl in front of him, bewildered. He was sure it would be his twin sprinting to catch up to him and demand to be talked to. If it was, he could and would resist telling his true reasons but where it was Haruhi, he knew he couldn't keep his mouth shut when she asked something. He looked away from her, trying to avoid the urge to speak.

"Hikaru?"

He closed his eyes and clenched his mouth shut tight, putting everything he had into trying to block out her voice.

"Talk to me, please." She poked his shoulder a few times.

His amber eyes shot open and turned quickly onto her. He knew at that moment he'd lost. Blast her for doing this to him! He turned and sat down on a nearby bench, now refusing to look at her as he gathered his thoughts on how to phrase things delicately so he didn't give everything away. A melancholy expression covered his features as he stared at his loosely clasped hands.

"She'll hurt him," he finally said pushing down the anger welling inside him, "and I don't want to see that happen."

"Who? Kaoru?"

Hikaru nodded. "He likes her. I saw it when he first realized she was a girl."

"And you don't think she likes him back."

He didn't look up, but his silence said it all.

Haruhi remained silent for a moment, staring out the window. When she spoke it was quietly. "There are many ways to care for someone else," she said. "What Kaoru feels toward Aiden-kun could be something different than what you're thinking, maybe it'll grow into something else, or maybe Aiden-kun likes him back the same way. Such feelings take time to pan out and be understood. Nothing will happen between them unless it's supposed to."

Hikaru looked up at the girl leaning back next to him. She looked down out him with a warm smile.

"Haruhi I-" he broke off, just watching her.

"Yes?"

"I-" he stopped again. "Thank you." His eyes softened and he smiled slightly at her and brushed a little of her hair away from her face.

"You're welcome," she replied and stood. "We better get back. Tamaki-senpai's probably moping in a corner by now." The two headed back to the Third Music Room.

* * *

Vannen: Well, that's the end of the first one. I'm taking suggestions on who wants relationships in this. Please submit in form of a review. I especially want votes on Haruhi's significant other. Hope you all enjoyed and I'll keep working. Have a good one all! Please be nice and push the little button on the left side that says you'll submit a review. I like praise, but I love constructive critism more. 


	2. Hail Storm

Vannen: Thanks to all my wonderful readers and reviewers. I was so happy to get so much feedback and look forward to more. I'm having fun writing this and authors always enjoy feedback whether it be critsism or praise, we still love it. I'm no exception so feel free to continue clicking the button at the bottom of the page to submit a review. Also, I've been informed that my OC sounds very similar to Haruhi. Hopefully, all will find the differences in character in this chapter. If it's still unclear, I'll exagerate her character a little more in the next chapter. Enjoy all! Here we go!

* * *

Chapter 2 

Hail Storm

"What are you lot talking about?" Aiden asked, her thick accent evident in her voice.

"We've got to keep your secret safe or you'll be forced out of the school," Tamaki informed her calmly. "Fear not, young maiden! We will protect you!" Okay, as calm as Tamaki gets when he's feeling "noble."

"You're father already knows who and what I am due to an extensive medical history." As an after thought, she added, "And for some reason he wants me to call him 'Ojisan.'"

Tamaki gaped. She knew his father? And he had asked her to call him by something so ridiculous? Blast him….

"We could still have a lot of fun keeping it form the rest of the school," Hikaru murmured.

"It could be a fun game," Kaoru agreed.

"I'll warn you now, Aiden-kun. You've been targeted as they're new toy and it only gets worse." Haruhi shook her head at the twin's antics, silently cheering that they had a new play thing that wasn't her. She still felt bad for the other girl, but it didn't cover her elation at the sudden fortune for her.

"Joy." Sarcasm dripped from her voice as she ignored the rest of the conversations going on around her as she went over to the piano to warm up for the day. She still didn't look all that good but she was at least able to walk in a fairly straight line, as long as she was able to lean against the wall. She played, heavier than normal and slower as well.

"I'm worried about her, Takashi," Hani said, watching the slightly swaying figure at the piano. "Let's keep a close eye on her."

"Ah."

* * *

Haruhi sat at a table in the corner, a pencil between her lips as she stared at the paper before her. Blasted calculus… She'd been released from her duties as a host for the day in order to complete the assignment she'd been given. It had to be done or else the trip planned for that weekend would never be able to include her 

"How goes it?" Kyouya asked looking over her shoulder.

"Pretty good," she replied and typed a few more figures into her calculator. "I'm just having a little trouble with this exponential growth thing. She just gave us the page number and told us to go to work." She tapped the pencil against her forehead before embedding it in her mouth again.

"Here," Kyouya said and leaned over her shoulder, taking the pencil from her lips and wrote a quick equation at the top of the page. "R is your initial amount, n is the starting point, time is t, your percent is P, and your changeable variable is I. That should help."

"That makes more sense," Haruhi murmured as she typed the equation he'd written into her calculator and submitted the information from the first problem. When it gave her an answer, she checked the back of the book where the answers to the odds were. Her left eye started to twitch slightly. "It didn't work…" she growled turning deathly cold eyes on Kyouya. His remained hidden behind the sun reflecting off his glasses.

"You missed something," he told her and pointed to one word in the text of the problem. "You're percent is decreasing, therefore P should be negative."

Haruhi changed the equation and tried again. "It worked!"

Kyouya grinned slightly and walked off.

"Thank you Kyouya-senpai!" Haruhi called after him.

"Any time," Kyouya replied. "As long as it's math."

She watched him for a moment, curious as to the strange tone he'd used to address her. It seemed almost… playful. Shaking her head, she pushed the thought away for a later time to contemplate.

Kaoru and Hikaru sat with their heads together, whispering and casting sly glances around. The girls around them squealed, thinking they were sharing some taboo information. In reality, they were planning the demise of two certain girls that worked diligently on their school work.

"So, if we get them away from the others, especially Tamaki," Kaoru surmised.

"We win and the girls don't know what hit them. I think this is our best plan yet."

"Oh, Hikaru," Kaoru said louder, giving his brother a dreamy look, causing another bout of squeals.

"There's no need to say anything Kaoru," the older twin said, pulling his little brother into a tender embrace, "I understand completely." His eyes flashed in satisfaction as a few girls fainted clean away.

"How do we get the ever observant Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai away?" Kaoru asked in his brother's ear.

"We'll think of something, even if we have to pay off Shadow King." They glanced quickly at Kyouya before once again launching into the speech rehearsed for the unthinkable "relationship" the two shared as hosts.

"Takashi?" Hani whined, looking up at his cousin with tears in his eyes. "Have you seen Usa-chan?"

"Where did you have him last Mitskuni?" the taller youth rumbled and wiped a bit of frosting off the tiny senior's face.

"I don't remember," Hani whimpered.

Mori stood and started looking. He glanced under tables, chairs and couches. Sadly, he didn't notice Tamaki, standing up and heading towards Aiden to tell her to play something different, until the last moment. Usa-chan sat on the floor very close to the piano.

Tamaki, being the dense king he is, didn't notice the stuffed rabbit either. At least, not until his foot connected with it and he started to fall forward, on a crash course with the bench and the girl that sat on it. One thought went through his head.

"Ah, crap."

Every eye turned to the piano as the screech of moving furniture and two "oafs" were heard. Mori had reached the location just in time to kick the bench out of the way, pull Aiden against him so she didn't pitch off the edge of the bench when his kick sent it out from under her, and grab Tamaki's collar barely before he could face plant into the hard floor below.

"Nice catch Mori-senpai," Tamaki breathed as he clambered back up to his own feet. Girls gathered around, crying in fear and relief at the three in the incident and whispering amongst themselves at Mori's actions.

"Sen… pai..."

The voice he heard was strained. He looked down at the girl crushed against his side. She was leaning forward heavily and seemed to be feebly pushing away at his arm.

"Can't…. breathe…." Aiden gasped. Mori quickly checked to make sure she had her feet under her before letting go. She inhaled but started to fall forward. Mori caught her again, this time not as tight. Tamaki pushed the bench closer, concern etched on his face.

"Are you alright, Aiden-kun?" he asked when Mori helped her sit on the bench.

"Yeah, just couldn't breathe for a moment. Mori-senpai was squashing my diaphragm a little." She leaned heavily forward and almost tipped off the bench before grabbing the edge. Tamaki held her shoulder and Mori caught the back of her shirt, just in case. "Dizzy…" she murmured. Her eyes started to roll backwards.

"Stay with me," Tamaki ordered gently, turning her face towards his. "Focus on me."

With difficulty, Aiden refocused her vision and stared at the purple depths before her.

"Deep breath," Tamaki ordered and took one himself, urging her forward by his example. She did so. "Mori-senpai, please help me get Aiden-kun to the nurse's office," Tamaki requested as he stood, and took Aiden's arms, helping her stand.

Mori looked back at a worried looking Hani who nodded and motioned for him to do so. The taller senior turned around and placed and arm at Aiden's back before pulling her legs out from under her so that he carried her. Tamaki led the two out, keeping a hold of Aiden's hand and talking to her, helping her to stay conscious by giving her someone to focus on.

"Is that part of Aiden-kun's medical history?" Haruhi asked looking up at Kyouya.

"I've never heard of her having fainting spells," he responded quietly. "It could be an effect of her current exhaustion coupled with Mori keeping her from breathing for a few moments. It's very possible that made her dizzy and then all she needed to do was focus on it. More often than not, that will trigger the mind to shut down to an extent."

Haruhi nodded and watched the door close quietly behind the trio. She noticed the restlessness of the girls that had watched Mori and Tamaki take Aiden out. "We need to distract them," she realized, "assure them that everything is alright." She got up from her table and walked over to the piano.

"Aiden-kun's alright," she told those around her. Immediately the entire room turned to listen. "He was sick yesterday and hasn't quite recovered. He'll be alright by tomorrow."

"Well done," Kyouya murmured as he walked past, his nose in his ledger again. The twins were right behind him and thanking her for getting things rolling again.

Sighs of relief sounded through the room and soon the club was in swing again, Tamaki and Mori returning later without the girl.

Once the club time ended, the entire club sighed in exhaustion. "How's Aiden-chan?" Hani asked as he jumped up to sit on Mori's shoulders. He liked the vantage point and honestly liked sitting up there, as if he were truly a small child and Mori his older brother.

"She'll be alright, or so the nurse said," Tamaki replied resting his head on the back of the couch. "My poor daughter," he whimpered. "She's a-an-anam- kaasan, what's the word I'm trying to say?"

"I haven't the faintest idea, tousan" Kyouya responded absently, his mind clearly in the figures on his computer.

"Anemic." The group looked over to Mori. "The nurse said Aiden-san was slightly anemic. It's nothing serious to worry about."

"What's 'anemic' mean Takashi?" Hani attempted to look at Mori's face only to almost fall off.

"Blood deficiency," Haruhi and Kyouya replied simultaneously and looked up at each other. Haruhi grinned slightly before going back to her calculus. Kyouya elaborated to the confused looks.

"She doesn't have enough red blood cells. According to the report on her, it's not bad enough that she has to take iron supplements but she is encouraged to. She does suffer from slight fatigue every once in a while though. The illness she suffered from probably didn't help much in the matter for today."

"I'm so glad you're so well versed in my medical history," Aiden snapped in her soft voice from the now open door. She looked just as terrible as when Mori had carried her out but was at least conscious. "Now stop delving into my personal matters!" She went over to the piano to practice. Hani went over to her.

"Are you angry at Kyou-chan?" he asked tentatively.

"No, not really," Aiden said resignedly. "I'm angrier at myself for pushing too hard on my first day out of bed when I know what I can and can't do than I am at Kyouya-san." She noted his worried look. "I'm alright, Hani-senpai. I just need a little more sleep and maybe something loaded with iron."

"You should rest," Hani told her wisely.

"I should vent anger through playing the piano before I do that," she told him. "Otherwise, I might end up hurting the first person to come across my path tomorrow morning and I don't want to do that."

"But you don't want to miss the trip this weekend because you're too tired or sick."

"I won't, Hani-senpai." She lifted him onto her lap before she started to play a soft melody. "Piano is my passion," she told him quietly as the rest looked on. "I use it for many things. I use it to vent, to relax, to express joy, sorrow, anger. I need this to calm my own nerves now so I can sleep and recover later. I need piano right now more than I need to relax. Everyone has a way to relax; they just need to find it."

Tamaki smiled at the picture they made. The tiny but older student sat on the taller but younger girl's lap. They looked like brother and sister, or nephew with his favorite aunt. "Maybe daughter isn't the proper title for her," he murmured. "She's too much like a favorite aunt."

"Or maybe 'kaasan,'" Hikaru snickered. "She acts more like a mom than Kyouya-senpai." His brother laughed along with him.

"No, she's Obasan," Tamaki decreed. He watched the two for a while longer, smiling slightly.

"She's better than you, Tono," Kaoru and Hikaru chorused. Tamaki's jaw drop and he walked away, sat next to a pillar, pulled his knees up to his chest, and a dark aura surrounded him.

"Way to go," Haruhi said sarcastically. "You just had to send him to his corner of despair."

"Corner of despair," Kaoru repeated looking at his brother.

"I like it!" The two grinned widely and gave Haruhi a thumbs up.

"You two annoy me." She went back to working on her calculus.

Hani and Mori escorted Aiden up to the dorms later that day, making sure she didn't pass out again. When she was safely in her room, the two left her and walked down to the front where their rides awaited them.

"Is there really nothing to worry about?" Hani asked. "I don't want her to have to miss the trip."

"Mitskuni," Mori turned to the loli-shota, "she'll be fine."

He stopped to ponder for a moment, hugging Usa-chan tight. "Maybe we should send a doctor to check up on her."

"Mitskuni, she'll be fine." Mori picked up the smaller youth and placed him on his shoulders. He walked out the front doors of the school.

"Takashi?"

"Ah?"

"C-could you and I spar sometime?" Mori's eyebrows rose even though Hani couldn't see it. "I think I need to find a way to relax, and I think it might work."

Mori thought for a while, staying silent as he pondered all the risks that could be taken in this matter. "Yes," he finally said simply. "When?"

"Today?"

Mori nodded. Within the hour, the boys stood in one of the family dojos, facing against each other.

"Takashi," Hani said, his eyes narrowed as he dropped into a crouch, "you better not go easy on me. I won't go easy on you."

"I know," Mori replied and slipped into his own stance. He watched Mitsk- no, his opponent's torso for movement. A slight shift in the light white shirt was all the warning he had before Hani launched at him.

The two fought, dodging, punching, kicking, landing blows. In the end, Hani landed a risky jumping kick to Mori's chest, sending the taller teenager sprawling onto his back where Hani jumped onto chest and held his fist a mere centimeter from Mori's nose. The small teenager climbed off his cousin's chest.

"Thanks, Takashi," Hani said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I feel better."

"Good." Mori sat up.

"Takashi! I'm sorry!" Hani cried and launched himself at his friend. "I didn't mean to hit you so hard. I just got lost in the fight!" He started to cry.

"Mitskuni, I'm alright." Mori stood, rubbing a hand across his own forehead. He ruffled Hani's hair with his free hand and smiled fondly at his charge.

* * *

Kyouya walked into the office building, greeting those around him courteously, all the while heading straight for his father's office. He may now be the head of the Ootori Company, but he still asked for permission and advice on certain matters. 

"Father?" he inquired sticking his head through the door. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

Ootori Yoshiro looked up at his youngest son. Rarely did Kyouya ask for something, even so simple as a conversation. Besides, conversation was usually saved until dinner when the entire family was gathered together.

"Come in, Kyouya," Yoshiro beckoned, motioning at the chair in front of his desk. "What's bothering you?"

Kyouya still hadn't gotten used to this new side to his father that spoke of respect and compassion to his son. He was too used to the competition inducing persona he'd always worn in front of his sons except on rare occasions. Shaking such thoughts out of his head, he sat.

"I'm having trouble finding information on a fellow student at school. I don't suppose you would know anything about the family? The name is Scadden."

"Scadden? Scadden Aiden?"

Kyouya nodded; impressed his father knew the name immediately. "Yes."

"Not many have heard of the girl, but she's supposed to be the next great musician, expected to be as great as Mozart. The family keeps her talent quiet."

"Here I thought Tamaki was often referred to as 'the next Mozart.' I wonder how he'll react to this. Probably curl up in his corner as usual," Kyouya mused silently and waited for his father to continue.

"She's Irish by birth but has lived in many other countries, the most time being spent in her home country and America where she has family. She's good enough to be a concert pianist right now, but she refuses, saying she wants to finish her education first. Her family though, is what I know of most." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "Her father bought the first share of the American branch of the Ootori Corporation when it reached the American Stock Market. He now owns more than half of it and thus is the closest one to the top. Be wary of her, she may be looking to push her family's standings up further."

"If she comes from such a wealthy family, why is she going to Ouran on a scholarship?"

"Her family won't claim her. No one knows why except them."

Kyouya's eyebrows rose a little over the top of his glasses. He thanked his father and left, pondering over the matter and another that had been bothering him for some weeks.

* * *

Haruhi set down her pencil, sighing as she completed the last problem of her calculus assignment. She'd have to remember to thank Kyouya for showing her that equation or she'd still have five or ten more problems to go. Why did teachers always have to load so much work on you at once? Shaking her head, she went to her kitchen and grabbed a box of crackers out of the cupboard to snack on before going to her room to read a book.

* * *

Hikaru and Kaoru leaned over the sheet of paper sprawled on the kitchen table in their home. 

"We need a distraction here," Kaoru told his brother pointing at a certain point.

"Smoke screen, do you think?" Hikaru asked.

"No, too easy to get through and you know Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai might over react to it."

"Stampede of rabid fan girls?"

"Perfect."

The two chuckled evilly and added a few more lines to the paper.

* * *

Tamaki practiced the piano in the smaller mansion his family owned. The sweet music flowed through the building, tearing up the eyes of some of the servants.

* * *

The next day dawned cheerful, at least in the eyes of a certain pianist and the president of the Black Magic Club. Dark rain clouds covered the skies and water poured from the heavens onto the heads of all the students unlucky enough to be caught out side. Haruhi sprinted into the safety of the building and stared back at the soaked grounds and silently prayed that thunder and lightning wouldn't show there faces at any point in the day. She'd hate to have to find someplace to hide at school until the storm passed. 

A figure caught her attention. Chestnut hair plastered to the forehead of Aiden as she stood out in the rain, staring at the sky, beckoning the storm to do its worst to her. Her uniform was drenched and she didn't look any better than it did physically. However, a light burned in her eyes that hadn't been present the day before when she'd seemed half-dead.

"Aiden-kun! What are you doing out in the rain?" Tamaki called as he raced under the same archway Haruhi stood in for cover. "Get inside before you get sick again!"

"I'm fine," Aiden responded evenly but turned away from the dark courtyard and moved into the building where they stood. "Morning, Haruhi-san," she said brightly and picked up the book bag she'd left by the doors. "I'll see you at club today."

Tamaki watched the pianist walk into the building. "She's adorable," he stated, "but really needs to think before she acts. She's been sick for two days."

"She's odd alright," Haruhi replied, "but I think she's doing better than she was. She was standing straighter today and didn't need to lean against the wall to stay upright."

Tamaki grinned at her. "You're so perceptive," he said, "and so cute!" He trapped her in a hug.

"Senpai, let go," Haruhi commanded strained.

"No," he retorted and spun her around.

"Let her go, Tamaki," Kyouya ordered, smacking his friend lightly on the back of the head as he came in. "She's turning blue." He folded an umbrella up and shook it off a little.

The blond released his hold on the girl in order to rub the growing lump on his head. "What was that for?" he whined. The bespectacled youth ignored him and kept walking into the school.

"You'll be late for class if you don't hurry," he reminded the two over his shoulder and rounded a corner.

Tamaki chased after him, demanding why "kaasan has to be so mean in the morning" and still rubbing his head. Haruhi smiled slightly, remembering that Kyouya really didn't do well with mornings, something about low blood pressure.

"I wonder if Aiden-kun's grumpiness is due to her being sick…" Haruhi pondered and went into her first class.

"Of course I'll help," Aiden replied cheerfully as she read a book. It was lunch time and the twins were asking for a little cooperation from the girl as she read a book and ate her food.

"Really?" Kaoru asked surprised.

"No." Her voice switched directly to deadpan.

They glanced at each other and backed away quickly.

"We gave her the chance," Kaoru whispered to his brother. "She passed it up."

"This is more fun," Hikaru replied. "Now we get to implement our plan." They grinned evilly at each other, rubbing their hands together in anticipation.

"Let's go enlist Shadow King." The two went in search of the vice president of the club, knowing that, with a high enough price, he would help.

The day continued and the group soon found themselves in the Third Music Room, preparing for club activities for the day.

"Mori-senpai! What happened?" Haruhi asked the senior. He was covered with bruises and a cut showed fairly fresh on the side of his face.

"We sparred," Hani told her as he walked. He too had numerous injuries, just a few less than Mori and not on his face. The loli-shota character looked fresh, and happier than he had in days. "A little exercise is good for you," he told Haruhi solemnly. "We feel great, don't we Takashi?"

"Yeah." He smiled slightly at Hani. Indeed, he looked more alert than he had in a while, a little more spark in his otherwise calm eyes.

"You two are strange," Tamaki told them as he approached.

"You're one to talk Senpai," Haruhi muttered.

"OI! Who did _what_ to the piano!" The group jumped at the sudden voice. For as quiet as Aiden was normally, she could apparently be very loud.

"She noticed," Kyouya told Tamaki a little belatedly.

"Don't you love it?" Tamaki asked the girl as he walked around the instrument. "A little more colorful and cheerful than plain black." He let a hand fall on the pink and purple fabric that covered it, careful not to squash any of the pink, orange, or yellow roses that littered the lid.

"Oh yeah, about as much as I love having a root canal," she retorted sourly, gripping an edge of the fabric, preparing to tear it off.

"We put so much work into that," the boy whined, giving her a tearful face.

"Good for you," she snapped. "It's coming off. You can't lift the lid with it on."

"It's staying on," Tamaki replied, loosing his whining persona for a sterner one. "You need something that will make you look like a happier person. You don't really fit into the Host Club with your current character."

"'Current character?'" she repeated absolute fury rising in her eyes. "I'm not one of you! I'm here to play, to practice. I have no interest in the rest of this club!" A few sharp intakes of breath were heard as she stared Tamaki down. He slowly shrank away and crawled into his corner. Aiden's glare spun on the rest of the group. "Anyone else have a problem with the way I am?"

The twins and Haruhi shook their heads in slight fear, Kyouya ignored the entire situation, and Hani and Mori looked on in slight sadness. Seeing no further objection, Aiden pulled the covering off the piano and propped the lid up. The rest of the group went about preparing for the day, staying out of the pianist's way.

The first of the girl's entered to a slightly subdued set of hosts, and a glowering musician. Undeterred, they went to their designations, all except those meant for Tamaki who was still sulking in his corner.

"These are such beautiful flowers, Scadden-san," a girl commented standing next to the piano. She fingered the petals of the pink roses sitting in a vase on the edge of the piano. Some of the roses on the covering of the piano had been placed in vases and set on each side of music stand, framing the music.

Tamaki's ears pricked up, as he listened, still not willing to come out of his corner unless it sounded like Aiden forgave him a little.

"Thank Tamaki-senpai," Aiden replied absently, squinting at her music, trying to make out the cluster of notes on the paper. "He's the one that insisted on having roses on the piano."

"They add a beautiful touch."

"They do," Aiden admitted glancing at them. "Although I'm fonder of the darker shades. They're still pretty though." She smiled and continued playing.

Tamaki stood, coming out of his despair. It was as much of an apology as he was going to get, he felt, and he better accept it or he'd be hiding in that corner for weeks to come. Instantly, he "turned on the charm" and went to work as a host. The mood lightened considerably with Tamaki's return to the scene.

Half way through the day, Aiden pulled out another book out of her seemingly bottomless bag. She glanced at it and went over to Tamaki.

"You up for duet?" she asked holding the music out to him. He looked at it, took in the intricate fingering already written in, the title, and the composer.

A grin split his face. "I love this piece," he said. "Secando or primo?" he asked.

"Chose which part you want. I know both." Aiden told him.

"Can I play primo?" he inquired hopefully.

"Of course," she replied and went over to the piano, Tamaki next to her. They sat down at the bench and placed their fingers on the keys. Tamaki set the tempo, or speed, and started the piece, Aiden keeping pace with him.

The group went into a hush at the sight of the two approaching the piano and looking so serious. When the piece started, laughter rang out. It was an intricate version of the classic "Chopsticks" that almost everyone knew, even those that didn't take piano lessons.

On it went, getting faster, louder and more difficult to play, Tamaki's arm going over Aiden's and reaching into the area she played in. Finally, he started a difficult portion, and literally shoved Aiden off the bench. She landed on the floor with grunt. Angrily, she jumped to her feet and glared at him. He grinned cheekily at her.

Resisting the urge to strangle him, she went to the other side of the bench and forced him to scoot over so she could start playing again, this time as the primo. They continued as the difficulty increased and finished off with a few loud chords. Instantly, Tamaki was on his feet, pulling Aiden with him. He bowed to the gathered audience, pulling her down with him.

"That was so fun!" A girl squealed.

"Was Tamaki-kun really supposed to push Aiden-kun off the bench like that?"

"It looked painful, but he seems to be okay…"

"It was all part of the piece," Aiden clarified and dusted off the black pants she wore. She had hoped Tamaki would choose the primo. It was her way of making amends. "Sorry" just wasn't in her vocabulary but a kind deed that the other would appreciate never hurt anything.

"You are alright though, right?" Tamaki asked concerned a little.

"Yeah, just fine." Aiden rolled her shoulders before going back to the piano. "That was fun Tamaki-senpai. We'll have to work on another one we can do at a later date."

"Yes, do so!" a girl called form the crowd. Many others took up the call until Tamaki conceded to do so.

Tamaki patted Aiden on the shoulder and went back to business, now having more to talk to the girls about as they asked him questions about his piano education, his skills, his favorite pieces, composers, and so on. Aiden went back to playing the piano calmly.

Hani smiled as he noticed Tamaki and Aiden getting along. Things could have gone badly if the musicians had been angry with each other. The duet had been funny as well. The smile on Tamaki's face had been wonderful and the concentration on Aiden's showed she was enjoying it as well. A spark of fun had lingered behind the depths of emotions she kept inside.

The last of the girls left soon after and the Host Club made a collective sigh. The group slowly crowded onto the two couches set facing each other where Haruhi usually entertained guests.

"That's it for the week," Tamaki said happily, "now we can worry about the trip tomorrow!"

"Where are we going again?" Haruhi asked.

"Another one of Kouya's retreats." Koaru informed her. "It's on the coast."

Haruhi sighed, knowing another play of getting her in a bathing suit would be involved. Instead of speaking her protest, she turned to Aiden.

"You're coming with us, right?"

"I don't know if I should," she responded. "I need to practice." She looked over at the piano. "I should probably stay here…"

"Don't be silly," Hikaru ordered kindly. "Too much practicing will give you problems in your wrists."

"Like carpal tunnel," Kaoru added wisely, nodding his head.

"I practice so much so I won't," Aiden retorted. "It keeps them strong."

"There's a piano at the house," Kyouya said. "You can practice there as long as you enjoy the time with the rest of us in other activities."

Aiden nodded her understanding.

Thunder crashed outside and Haruhi jumped. She glanced around quickly for a place to hide. A flash of lightning illuminated the room and the lights went out. The sound of rain and hail thundered against the windows of the suddenly silent room.

"Blasted power outages," Hikaru grumbled and fumbled for something inside his backpack. The sky outside was so dark it seemed almost as if it were night time.

"This isn't a good thing," Aiden murmured looking out the window. "We need to get to the ground floor, now." She stood and started heading for the door, carefully making her way through the room. She caught Haruhi's arm on the way. "No panicking now, Haruhi-san," she told her. "Keep it together."

Another flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and thunder crashed almost instantly after. "Everyone out of here, now!" Aiden ordered uncharacteristically loud. Hikaru turned on the flashlight he'd been looking for. "Hikaru-san, lead everyone down the ground floor. Stay away from the windows. I'm going to check the rest of the school." She pulled Haruhi over to the group and pushed her amongst them. "Don't let her start panicking."

"What's going on?" Hani asked, a little fear in his voice.

"I've seen this type of storm before in America," Aiden responded. "They're dangerous. Lightning is sporadic, thunder is ear piercingly loud, and soon we'll have hail large enough to shatter the windows. We've got to get everyone away from the windows and near ground floor exists should the need arise."

"Why on the ground floor?"

"I'd hate to think what would happen if the building were struck by lightning and caught on fire. A building as old as this one with so much expensive, highly flammable furnishings would probably go up in flames in a matter of minutes. Now go." She went out the door and headed away from the staircase, looking in every room she came across.

Mori caught up with her, checking rooms on one side of the hall.

"Mori-senpai, you should get down there too."

"It'll go faster with two of us," he replied simply.

Aiden paused, then nodded. "Let's hurry," she replied and opened another door to a dark room. Candles littered the room and a figure in a black robe stood next to one of the windows.

"Oi!" she called. "Get out of there and head for the ground floor," she ordered. The figure didn't move. Impatiently, Aiden rushed in and pulled it away from the window. A young man with bright blue eyes started down at her.

"Scadden-san?" he demanded after a moment, confusion in his eyes and voice.

"Nekozawa-san?" she returned and then shook her head. "No time for memories, get out of here before the hail gets worse or it'll break the windows with you right next to it. It's too dangerous. Get downstairs. The Host Club is there already, follow instructions." She caught his arm and pushed him out the door. He stumbled under her forcefulness before following orders.

Mori and Aiden met up at the staircase on the top floor. "Find everyone?" Aiden asked breathlessly. She'd run through the entire school, checking rooms that were never used, just in case.

"Yeah," Mori replied, barely winded from his own search. "Let's go." He started heading down the stairs.

"Isn't there another staircase?" Aiden demanded eyes wary of the large windows to her left.

"No."

"Great." She caught up to him and they dashed down the stairs. A crash of thunder sounded and the winds picked up. Hail the size of peanuts grew almost instantly to the sizes of golf balls and baseballs. Windows shattered through the school and Mori paused long enough to see the cracks forming in the windows they were passing.

"Aiden!" He caught her shoulders and pulled her back against him, turning so he was between her and the windows.

"Mori-senpai!" she gasped at him, wondering what he was thinking. The windows broke, sending glass pouring onto them, and hail followed driven by high winds into Mori's back.

"Come," he ordered and started a slow pace down the stairs, making sure he shielded her. Once past the section of stairs near the window, he stopped to take a breather, pulling off his jacket and shaking the glass out of it.

"Mori-senpai," Aiden said worriedly, "you're hurt." She reached out and wiped some of the blood dripping down the side of his face away. Glass shards had cut a few gouges in his scalp, the only unprotected area it could reach. One looked fairly serious but she couldn't tell in the darkness.

"Come," Mori ordered and pulled his jacket back on. The stairs leading down from the landing lay near windows as well, already shattered with rain and hail pouring through them.

"We're safer here," Aiden argued.

"Fire?" Mori reminded.

Aiden set her jaw grimly and started down the stairs, Mori once again shielding her. Three more flights went this way before Mori finally dropped to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Mori-senpai?" Aiden turned back to him and saw the stain on the back of his jacket. Cursing she pulled one of his arms over her shoulders. "Come on," she ordered, "two more flights." They started down again, this time Aiden taking the brunt of the storm. Mori didn't make it down the second set. He passed out on the landing. Aiden stared down at him. She couldn't leave him on his own, and they both couldn't stay there. He needed help badly. "Only one option," she decided and rolled Mori onto his chest. She slipped under his form, took both his hands in hers before struggling to stand, keeping his arms looped around her neck over her shoulders.

"You had to be the tallest in the group," she muttered and started dragging him down the stairs as best she could, leaning against the railing to keep her balance as she went. She felt him stir slightly just before she reached the ground floor. "Mori-senpai?" she asked in concern. She received a slight grunt in reply. "Can you lift your legs off the floor for me?" She felt him strain and his legs came up slowly. "Thank you," she murmured and continued her painstaking way to the only room on the ground floor without windows.

"Aiden-kun!" Kaoru cried when she came through the door. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she panted. "Mori-senpai's hurt though." She let him slide to the floor. "Head injury," she told them. She looked at those present. All that remained in the school at that hour were a handful of students, including the Host Club and Nekozawa, and three teachers

"Takashi!" Hani came over, worried. "What happened? Are you alright?" Mori didn't reply. He'd passed out again.

"Anyone know any first aid?" Aiden demanded looking around. Haruhi was the only one to answer in the affirmative as Hani was too distraught over his protector to pay attention.

"Someone call an ambulance," Tamaki ordered as he watched Haruhi kneel next to Mori, Hani, and Aiden, examining the tallest senior's wounds on the back of his head.

"This cut isn't deep enough to have him passed out," Haruhi murmured as she moved Mori's hair out of the way.

"I think that was the start of the cause," Aiden murmured. "It didn't help that he took the brunt of golf ball and baseball sized hail on his head and back. I think they pushed him past the limit."

"Probably," Haruhi agreed and the two girls started a search on something to bandage Mori's head with. When nothing turned up, Aiden pulled a bandana off her bandana that had been hidden under her jacket and proceeded to tie it around the worst of Mori's wounds.

"The ambulance is on the way," Kyouya said as he closed his cell phone.

"Is Takashi going to be alright?" Hani asked, his eyes still fixed on his cousin.

"He should be," Aiden replied and rolled Mori onto his back. He groaned. "See?" she asked. "He's still semi-responsive. I think he'll pull through."

Hani didn't reply, just stayed between Haruhi and Aiden as he waited for Mori to wake up.

* * *

Vannen: Well that's the end of this chapter. I hope you all liked it. There's the lovely button at the bottom of the page I'd like for you to push. You don't have to if you don't want to, but I do appreciate feedback as I said in the beginning. Also, I'm still taking votes for relationships. So far I've got about three. Decent considering the amount of reviews, but I do want to know what you all think. Have a good one all and I'll see you in the next chapter! Later much! 


	3. Night Games

Vannen: Wow, I'm slow at updating lately. Ah, school, how it slows us all down! Well, here's the next chapter. I hope you all like. It took a while to get it out and it's a touch shorter than the last two, but not by much. I'm still looking for votes on relationships. I really want to write this in a way in which you all will like. Thanks to all my reviewers! You're awesome! Here we go!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the general story line of this fic and my OC. There is a mention of an American movie in here and I don't own it either. I've probably made some majorly wrong assumptions, but I just felt the need to put it in. Don't flame me for it. Feel free to enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3

Night Games

Mori blinked heavily against the bright light in his eyes.

"Takashi! You're awake!"

He glanced around and found Hani kneeling next to him.

"Mitskuni?" he asked, wondering where he was. He sat up, rubbing his head and found cloth wrapped around it.

"Take it easy, Mori-senpai," Haruhi coaxed, helping him into the sitting position. "You might have a concussion and there are some deep gashes on your head."

Mori patted Hani's head to assure him he was okay and nodded at Haruhi, indicating he understood. He glanced at his surroundings and realized he was still in the school, but on the ground floor in a classroom. He paused, thinking back to what he remembered. Last he knew, he was coming down the last two flights of stairs with Aiden. He didn't remember getting past the last landing.

He looked around for the girl he'd shielded earlier. She leaned against the wall, breathing heavily and rubbing her shoulder.

"Where's that ambulance?" Kyouya wondered, a growl evident in his voice.

"Ambulance?" Mori asked.

"You were unconscious," Haruhi reminded him, "and bleeding pretty badly from your head. Good thing Aiden had a bandana or you'd probably still be bleeding."

Mori reached up to the cloth on his head, feeling the cotton material. He looked over at Aiden once again. She was wincing heavily as she continued massaging her shoulder, rotating it in an attempt to alleviate the pain she felt.

"Are you okay, Takashi?" Hani asked concernedly.

"Aa." He rubbed his forehead and pushed back the headache he felt or tried to as well. Pain thundered through his aching skull. He didn't want to worry about that. "Aiden?" he inquired.

"I'm alright," she replied and stopped moving her shoulder. She looked at the group around her, waiting for something. "What?" she demanded.

"How far did you carry Mori-senpai?" Koaru asked, a little awe in his voice.

"Down the last flight of stairs and into here," she replied nonchalantly. "It's not that big a deal."

"Not a big deal?" Tamaki demanded. "Aiden-kun, you're not much taller than one-hundred, sixty centimeters! Mori-senpai's over one-ninety! He's huge compared to you!"

Aiden ignored Tamaki and looked around at the other students. One huddled in the corner caught her attention. She went over to him.

"Nekozawa-san," she said hesitantly. The shrouded youth turned towards her.

"Scadden-san." He smiled slightly at her. "How long has it been?"

"Ten years at least," Aiden replied.

"You two know each other?" Tamaki asked.

"We met in Ireland one summer. Nekozawa-san's family had business there for a summer and stayed in a house near mine. We didn't have anyone else to play with really, so we played with each other." Aiden grinned at the taller youth. "You still can't stand the sunlight, huh?"

"No, I can't. Don't start teasing me about it again."

"Ah, come on," Aiden begged in an uncharacteristically happy tone. "You know I can't help it."

"That's what I'm afraid of…."

"You're no fun," she pouted slightly.

A pounding on the door caused the entire room to jump. Kaoru opened it and two paramedics came in, pushing a gurney in front of them. "Who's the injured party?" one asked. Everyone looked at Mori.

One of the paramedics knelt next to him and carefully pulled the bandana off the teenager's head. He examined it carefully, and then checked Mori's response system. Finally, he stepped back. "You've got a minor concussion to your occipital lobe. Your eyes will probably be sensitive to light for the next couple of days or so and you'll suffer from headaches but you probably don't need to come to the hospital except maybe for some stitching in your scalp."

"Will he have to stay the night?" Hani asked sadly.

"Probably not, unless you have other injuries, any neck pain?" Mori shook his head. "No? Alright. We'll take you to get some stitches unless you have a personal physician that is capable?"

"Nonsense," Kyouya interrupted. "He'll go to the hospital where one of the staff will treat him."

"Of course, Ootori-san," the other paramedic bowed respectfully to the young man. "If you'll come with us?" He motioned for Mori to follow.

The tall senior stood but didn't move any further, looking down at Hani.

"Can I come too?" Hani inquired, giving his best begging pout.

The paramedics exchanged glances. "He's small enough," one said and the other nodded. "Alright, come on then." The four left.

"Well, what do we do now?" Tamaki inquired.

"Everyone goes home," Haruhi replied. "At least I am." She started for the door when a crash of thunder sounded and she jumped. "Or maybe I'll stay here." She huddled in a corner. Tamaki and Hikaru went over to her, attempting to comfort her.

"We really should get all these students home," one of the teachers commented, "and we can go home ourselves."

"What about those of us that live in the dorms?" a young man asked. "We can't go back to our rooms right now. The windows are probably broken."

"They're on the south side of the school," Kyouya informed him. "With the wind direction, they should be fine."

"No one should go into the upper stories until the storm has passed," Aiden said. "If the place is struck by lightning and catches on fire-"

"It won't."

She looked up at the teacher who had spoken. "The only place lightning is going to strike this school is on the lightning rods positioned across it. If by some chance a fire does start, the sprinkling system in the ceilings will turn on." He glared down at the young girl looking slightly sheepish at her lack of observation. "You're safe to go to your dormitories if you take the servant's staircase."

"There's another staircase?" Aiden demanded. She was going to kill Mori next time she saw him.

"Not many students know about it."

Maybe she wouldn't kill the senior. In any case, she was tired and going to bed as soon as she was shown where the second set of stairs was. Once the other members of the Host Club and Nekozawa were picked up by their limos (Haruhi getting a ride home with the twins), Aiden and the other remaining students were led up to their dormitories.

* * *

The next morning, Tamaki went in search of his fellow club members as soon as he was awake and prepared for the day, which meant at about six-thirty in the morning. He went to the twins home first. 

"My lord," they whined, both rubbing sleep out of their eyes, "is there a certain reason you got us up this early?"

"I want us all to still be able to go on our trip this weekend. You two are still alright to go, correct?" He gave them his best pitifully pleading look.

"We never said we couldn't," Hikaru reminded him.

"Mori's the only one that might not be able to go," Kaoru added.

"Then let's go get the others and see if he's alright!" Tamaki literally dragged the Hitachiin brothers from their home and over to Kyouya's, dragging him out of bed, still asleep although they did find some way to get him dressed and presentable for the day, just as they had when they'd dragged him to the supermarket a few months ago. Haruhi came next and she too put up a bit of a fight in being dragged out of the comfort of the small condo she shared with her father. The group proceeded to the school and dragged a very exhausted Aiden out of her light slumber, earning a few good hits upside the head for their troubles. Hani came last before they went over to see how Mori fared.

As expected, he was still asleep, bandages wrapped around his head.

"Takashi," Hani murmured, patting his cousin's forehead. "Wake up."

The tall senior's eyes drifted slowly open and they slowly focused on the group around him. When the sight finally registered in his mind, he sat up quickly before putting his forehead in a hand, pain shooting through it.

"Maybe you shouldn't try moving so early," Haruhi suggested, "especially when you have a slight concussion."

Mori looked up at her and smiled slightly, telling her he was okay.

"Are you still up for the trip?" Tamaki asked in the same way he had the others, with his best pitiful look. "It won't be as much fun without you."

"Aa."

"Alright!" Tamaki jumped up and down a few times like a hyperactive child would.

Before any of them could blink, the blond had grabbed them all and pulled them into the limo outside. "Your stuff is already packed," he informed them before turning to the driver. "Let's go!" he commanded brightly.

"Yes, sir," the chauffer replied and pulled away from the Morinozuka mansion, his friends blinking in slight confusion at the fact that Tamaki could move even faster than when he'd been pulling them out of bed.

* * *

"We're here!" Hani cried happily and jumped out of the car, Aiden right behind him and gasping for air. 

"Claustrophobic?" Kaoru asked and helped the girl steady herself, a small smile on his face.

"Just not so fond of being that close to people for that long of time," she replied and forced herself to calm down.

"Rich idiots," Haruhi growled when she stepped out of the limo and took in the sight of the large mansion overlooking the beach. Aiden looked at what the other girl was glaring at and rolled her eyes. The place was unnecessarily large. It was probably able to fit the entire school population in the building and still have room.

"This is shared amongst the entire extended Ootori family," Kyouya informed them, "not just my immediate." He pushed his glasses up his nose. He'd woken up a few moments before they'd arrived.

"Let's go!" Tamaki cried and headed into the building as fast as he could. "The sooner we get in the sooner we can change and go to the beach."

"Alright!" Kaoru and Hikaru exclaimed and followed at a run.

Within the next few ten minutes, the boys had all changed and were heading down the beach. Haruhi wore a pair of shorts and a t-shirt as she usually did on such outings, and Aiden wore jeans and t-shirt.

"Aren't you coming swimming with us?" Kaoru asked the two girls as he passed.

"I'm not in the mood," Haruhi responded with a smile. "Maybe later." Kaoru returned her smile with one of his own before glancing at Aiden.

"I'm not much of a swimmer," she responded, sitting down and pulling a book out of the backpack she carried. "Water just isn't my favorite thing in the world."

"What's the matter can't swim?" Hikaru demanded teasingly.

"I can swim," Aiden responded coolly, "just not very well."

"You two are strange," the twins chorused before heading off to start a water fight with Tamaki. The morning continued along those lines, the boys playing in the water, the girls watching, napping, or reading.

Lunch rolled around and the group returned to the mansion to scrounge up what food could be had in the building. In the end, Haruhi and Aiden ended up making sandwiches for everyone, both cursing the helpless males that didn't know how to cook something so simple.

When they entered the dining room, Haruhi couldn't help but start laughing at the boys. Hikaru and Kaoru had each other in a headlock while Mori and Hani held Tamaki back from them.

"What are you doing?" Aiden demanded as she set down a plate of sandwiches. "If we end up having to clean blood out of the carpet because you two can't behave, I'll make you do it and Haruhi-san and I aren't going to tell you how."

"He started it," Hikaru replied petulantly as he and Kaoru parted, turning their backs on each other.

"Whatever," Aiden muttered and looked up at where Hani and Mori still held a struggling Tamaki. "What's your problem?" Aiden demanded, looking at the blond.

Tamaki growled, not answering her question. The musician turned her eyes to the two boys holding the fighting third.

"Kaoru-chan and Hika-chan were teasing Tama-chan before they got in an argument of their own," Hani explained.

Aiden nodded and went over to Tamaki. She gave him a solid whack upside the head. He immediately stopped squirming in the seniors' grasps to stare at her before starting to whine loudly.

"You can let him go now," Aiden told the two. "Come on," she told Tamaki and pulled him into a standing position. "Food's ready."

"How did you do that?" Haruhi asked, slightly awed. "I've never been able to calm them down when they're having a fit."

"You learn how to when you have two older brothers whose purpose in life seems to be tormenting you and your little sister who does nothing but whine all the time," Aiden replied calmly. "Let me guess, you're an only child."

Haruhi nodded.

"At least you're not spoiled like others that I know," she cast a glance at Tamaki. The group finally settled down enough to enjoy the small lunch the two girls had prepared.

It had been established that the afternoon would be spent playing games inside or relaxing in general, except in Aiden's case. She sat at the piano and practiced as the others found ways to occupy themselves. The day continued like this until after dinner when Tamaki demanded that they watch a movie together and the entire club was soon bustled into an entertainment room, reserved for just the purpose of watching movies.

Aiden and Haruhi popped popcorn as the boys went in search of blankets, pillows, and drinks. When the two girls entered the room where they'd be spending the evening, they couldn't help but chuckle. The young men had positioned themselves in various positions from disarray to refined, leaving two spots for the girls. Tamaki and Hikaru were sprawled on the floor with pillows and blankets with a spot between them which they waved Haruhi over to, Kyouya sat in a chair with a rather dignified air, a blanket within easy reach if he decided he wanted it and the remotes to the television, DVD player, and sound system within easy reach, Kaoru reclined in the other chair, and Mori and Hani sat comfortably on the couch with a space vacant between them which Aiden took, grabbing a blanket and flicking off the light as she went.

Kyouya started the movie and Aiden almost started laughing as she saw the title, _The Mummy_. She'd seen it more than once when she'd lived in America and loved it. However, when she'd watched it with friends, the girls of the group had been scared at least to some extent and screamed almost every time the mummy appeared on the screen, if only because he seemed to jump into existence and surprised them. The movie was intense at times but still funny in her opinion. She settled back with a smile on her face.

Within the first hour of the show, Hani had started quivering slightly, nerves apparently getting to him. Tamaki had tried more than once to "console" his "scared daughter." He now sat off to the side, once again a dark aura around him. Haruhi had given him a cold glare after his fifth attempt before telling him sternly to leave her alone, thus sending to his corner of despair as it had been dubbed by the twins.

When a particularly intense part in the film occurred, Haruhi jumped and squeaked. Tamaki immediately came out of his corner and sat next to her, offering support should she need it. In response, Haruhi endured his hug with a sour look on her face but humoring the excitable teen nonetheless.

At the same point, Hani had jumped as well, but not in place. He launched himself into Aiden's lap, a scared look on his face. She patted his head absently, letting him hold onto her until he stopped shaking. When things calmed down, he turned in her lap and continued watching. If things got scary again, he could just turn away and go tack to holding onto her for support or go to Mori if it wasn't enough.

It wasn't long after that first intense moment that Aiden brought her feet off the floor, shivering slightly under Hani. He looked at her.

"Are you okay, Aiden-chan?" the loli-shota asked quietly to not disturb the others.

"I'm not that fond of bugs," she responded with a smile, "especially not scarabs." Her gaze went back to the screen and she let her feet drop to the ground again shortly after. At one point, the entire group watched the screen intently. Aiden however was laughing uproariously.

"Why are you laughing?" Tamaki demanded appalled.

When Aiden finally regained control, she gasped, "Translation difference," and started laughing again.

"Translation?"

"The movie's originally in English," Kyouya said. "It's an American movie."

"That's right, you lived in the United States for a while," Haruhi commented.

"Yep."

"So what's so funny about a translation difference?" Hikaru demanded.

"In America, the line was 'Well if it isn't my buddy Benny?' not the dramatic line it's brought out to here. I'll try to keep the inappropriate laughter down to a minimum but I'm not making promises, especially when it gets really good."

"You're strange," Hikaru told her bluntly.

"And I'm very proud of it." She gave him two thumbs up and a wide, half-crazed grin.

The movie continued with only soft sounds of amusement coming from the Irish girl. When it finally ended, all the popcorn and soda was gone, and no one was tired yet.

"Now what?" Hikaru asked.

"We could watch the sequel," Aiden suggested and received a few emphatic no's in response. "You lot aren't fun." Another idea occurred to her. "Poker?"

"Commoners know how to play?" Tamaki asked in slight shock.

"A lot of us do," Aiden replied evenly.

"What do you use to bet?"

"Depends on how serious you are. I've seen people that use money backed chips, cash, and then, my favorite, various food items, usually candy. That's what most high schoolers play with back in the states at least. There's also strip poker, but I'm not sure you want to play that."

"Strip poker?" Hikaru asked. "That could be fun."

"We are_ not_ playing strip poker," Tamaki growled darkly.

"Didn't think so," Aiden replied. "I'm just coming up with ideas."

"We could play some night games," Haruhi murmured, looking out the window at the clear, star-studded sky.

"Night games?" Tamaki inquired. "What are night games?"

"Games like Sardines and Ghost in the Graveyard," Aiden supplied and received blank looks from all but Haruhi. "What?" she demanded.

"They don't know what they are," Haruhi told her, amusement in her voice.

"You've never played Sardines?" Aiden demanded and shook her head at the vacant expressions. "Haruhi, they're missing out. Such poor deprived children. Shall we educate them?" The other girl nodded. "Everyone put on dark clothes that can get dirty and meet us outside."

Ten minutes later, the group was gathered on the front porch, wearing dark blues, dark greens, black and other colors not seen easily at night. The boys listened to Haruhi intently as she explained the rules.

"It's basically hide-and-go-seek except only one person is hiding and all the others are seeking. When you find the person, you hide with them, so if you're hiding, pick big locations. The last person to find everyone is It for the next round."

"That's simple enough," Hikaru remarked.

"Okay, to set up boundaries," Aiden took over. "You can't hide inside the buildings but anywhere else on the estate counts unless the doors to the building are open to begin with or it doesn't have any doors, such as a gazebo. Do you want to hide in pairs or alone?"

"Alone," everyone chorused.

"Okay, who wants to be It first? Any volunteers?"

"Oh! Me!" Tamaki cried, his hand in the air.

"Okay, off you go Tamaki-senpai," Aiden ordered. "We'll count to fifty, then we're coming after you."

Tamaki took off at a run as the rest of the group settled down and started counting. Haruhi watched the group attentively. Kyouya seemed bored, Hikaru looked excited, Kaoru remained calm but a glimmer of anticipation showed in his gaze, Hani couldn't hold still, Aiden was smirking, and Mori remained impassive as always. She couldn't help but smile at the difference in their characters. This could end up being really fun.

They finished counting and split into different directions. Hikaru and Kaoru ended up going together, acting as a pair, and Hani stayed with Mori. Kyouya, Haruhi, and Aiden each took a different direction.

Kyouya wandered the grounds aimlessly, not really caring. He was only playing because Tamaki wouldn't have left him alone if he didn't agree to. The sooner he found Tamaki, the better off he'd be. He wouldn't admit it, but he really didn't relish the idea of thinking of a good hiding place. This game was ridiculous in the first place. He could spend his time better, but his blond friend wouldn't shut up about it if Kyouya didn't agree to play. So, to avoid having to put forth the effort of hiding, he looked around carefully, searching for his friend.

Kaoru and Hikaru worked their way along quietly, searching for their blond leader. As they went, they kept close together, whispering so only the other would hear.

"We put the plan into action tomorrow," Hikaru murmured.

"Of course," Kaoru replied. "One question though, how do we get the rabid fan girls here and then away quickly so they don't know what's going on?"

"That does pose a problem… We could always modify the plan to be back at school when the break ends and…" they kept walking, searching in the bushes and trees.

Haruhi nervously looked around a corner, trying very hard to find Tamaki and avoid the others, knowing that if Kaoru and Hikaru saw her, they'd probably try to scare her and Hani would scare her just because he would be so loud seeing her. She wanted nothing more than to find Tamaki so she didn't have to hide alone later.

Hani and Mori prowled through the trees, the small senior on his cousin's shoulders and staring intently up into the branches, in case Tamaki had climbed one. Mori scanned the ground, making sure the founder of their club wasn't hiding in the shadows or under a bush.

Tamaki couldn't help the soft snicker than escaped his lips as he saw Kaoru and Hikaru searching the bushes at the edge of the estate grounds. No one would ever find him.

Aiden glanced around furtively making sure no one was watching her. The twins hadn't noticed her and had their backs turned to her, moving in the opposite direction. No one else was in sight. She silently climbed into a dried up fountain and slid under the rim on the inside. Once settled out of sight of casual passerby, she turned smirking, green-hazel eyes catching silver moonlight as she met slightly shocked purple ones.

"How'd you find me?" Tamaki demanded in a hiss.

"I grew up playing this game," Aiden replied equally quiet. "Granted this is a really good spot, but you've got to hide better than this to beat me."

Tamaki nodded. "Who do you think will find us next?"

"I would guess Haruhi, if only because she'll be thinking of looking in places where your friends might not. Expensive clothes plus the ground don't mix too well, usually, but Haruhi isn't afraid of getting dirty." Aiden paused. "Then again, Kyouya-senpai is rather clever. He might think of looking here."

"Kyouya-kun would be the one to calculate everything," Tamaki mused.

"Yes, now hush before someone hears us." Aiden pressed herself closer to the stone wall at her back, cocking her head to the side as she heard quiet footsteps approaching. A shadow cast across the rim of the fountain for a moment before disappearing. The two hiding youths let out soft sighs of relief and grinned at each other.

"Tama-chan! Aiden-chan!"

The two looked up.

"Quiet down, Hani-senpai," Aiden whispered. "You'll give us away. Come on, or you'll get caught."

Hani and Mori climbed into the hiding spot, the loli-shota fitting easily between Aiden and Tamaki in the darkness created by the rim of the fountain. Mori had a bit more difficulty concealing himself and finally lay down on his side, pushing himself back as far as possible to become one with the shadows.

"Guess you were wrong," Tamaki said with a slight grin at Aiden.

"Everyone is at some point or another," she replied absently. "I rarely am right," she admitted after a moment's thought, "at least when it comes to judging character."

The four remained silent after that, waiting for the next person to find them. Haruhi soon found them; having heard Hani give a quiet laugh when he thought she'd passed them by. She poked her head over the edge of the fountain, saw them and looked back up, acting as if she hadn't. Seconds later, she'd jumped in with them and sat huddled next to Mori.

"No one saw you?" Tamaki demanded. Haruhi shook her head.

Kaoru and Hikaru found them soon after and the group had fun, trying not to laugh when Kyouya finally stuck his head into the dry fountain and saw them, his glasses trying to slide off his nose at the awkward angle.

"Kyouya's It," Kaoru and Hikaru chorused as they stood from their hiding places.

"Get hiding," Haruhi said with a grin. She was starting to enjoy herself immensely. When she'd found where Tamaki had decided to hide, she'd been slightly shocked that he would risk the state of his clothes. Shrugging it off, she joined the others in counting as Kyouya disappeared into the darkness.

Kyouya proved to be rather good at hiding himself. Haruhi had found him sitting in the tree first but due to her inferior height, she couldn't get up to where he was. Instead, she kept moving, finding Mori and Hani and tailing them until they found the Shadow King. Mori then helped her into the tree before giving Hani a lift and climbing in. Tamaki found them soon after. He wasn't quiet enough as he jumped into the concealing branches. Aiden found heard him and raced after him. He immediately jumped down and gave the short girl a boost before regaining his own perch. When the twins arrived, they pouted up at the grinning group.

"What happens when there's a tie?" Hani asked.

"Those that tie together hide together," Aiden said solemnly, a serious expression on her face. Haruhi laughed at the face before telling the twins they'd better get going and started the count.

The twins concealed themselves in some bushes at the far end of the estate, snickering until they heard someone approaching. They quieted instantly and peeked out from beneath the bushes. Aiden found them quickly, practically diving under the shrubs. Seconds later, pounding footsteps sounded and Tamaki went racing past. The three tried hard to keep their laughter quiet but Kyouya heard them and joined them more gracefully than Aiden had. After Tamaki released he'd lost Aiden, he retraced his steps, knowing she must have found the twins. He soon found them due to Hikaru, Koaru, and Aiden's stifled snickering. The blond lay flat next to the four already there. Mori and Hani found them next and finally Haruhi sauntered into view and discovered them. As she went off to hide, the twins turned to Aiden.

"How'd you find us so fast?" Kaoru asked curiously.

"Luck, pure and simple," she replied sheepishly. "I didn't want Tamaki following me all night so I tried to loose him by hiding in the bushes. The plan was, once he passed, I'd take off in another direction. I didn't exactly expect to find you there."

Soon the group went in search of the natural rookie of the club.

Kyouya found her first, on the roof of a tool shed. He climbed the tree she'd used to get up there and lay flat next to her, giving her a very small smile before watching for the others. Kaoru and Hikaru found them next, then Tamaki who'd been tailing them. He didn't get flat fast enough as Aiden saw him. As she approached the shed, she heard footsteps approaching. Glancing to the side, she saw Mori and Hani coming around the edge of the main house. She immediately changed course and slid into the darkness the shadows of the trees in the orchard provided. Hani and Mori followed but failed to notice her doubling back until she'd already reached the tree to climb onto the shed. She finished the climb before the two seniors reappeared out of the fruit trees.

"Your turn," Kyouya told them. Apparently, he enjoyed the game just as much as the others. He just hid it better.

The two seniors disappeared as the rest of the group sat on the shed roof, counting to fifty.

Kaoru and Hikaru found the two seniors first, this round and joined them under the wooden porch behind the house. Haruhi stumbled on them soon after with Tamaki close behind. The two concealed themselves quickly and settled down to wait. Five minutes past before Kyouya looked under the porch and slipped into the hiding spot as well. It was another five minutes before Aiden found them.

"You just had to find a small, enclosed place," she grumbled before running off to find her own hiding spot.

She searched the ground, counting to fifty in her head so she knew how much time she had. With only ten counts left, she found the perfect spot. She climbed onto a bench and jumped, her hands instantly wrapping around the wood overhead. Using the momentum from the jump, she kicked off the wall and swung onto the plank before carefully sliding along it so she sat at the center of her hiding spot. She soon heard the distant call signaling the beginning of the search for her and settled down to wait, resting her back against some wood.

After ten minutes, Hani and Mori stumbled across her in the rafters of the gazebo and joined her. It took another five before Haruhi spotted them. Tamaki was following her again though, and she decided to loose him before joining them. She led him astray before doubling back and working her way into Aiden's hiding place with a little help from Mori. Kaoru and Hikaru found them and climbed up, giving Aiden impressed looks as the settled down, waiting for Kyouya and Tamaki.

"Have you found them yet?" Tamaki asked, walking into the gazebo. Kyouya met him there.

"If I had, I wouldn't be wandering around still," the young man replied evenly and glanced around under the benches in the gazebo.

The group above exerted all their efforts to keep from laughing out loud at the two standing directly beneath them. If Mori were to let his legs down, they'd it Kyouya on the head.

The two young men parted ways, continuing their search. Less than two minutes later, Kyouya appeared again and smirked up at those in the rafters before climbing up himself.

"Well aren't you the actor," Aiden murmured as he settled down. "How long do you think it'll take him to find us?" she asked the others. Bets were made and they settled down to wait.

It took almost fifteen minutes before Tamaki returned to the gazebo and thought to look up. He pouted at the group above him who started laughing and climbed down.

"Nice hiding spot," Hikaru told Aiden, nodding respectfully. "I wouldn't have thought someone as small as you could have gotten up there. How'd you do it anyway?"

Aiden repeated her actions of before, kicking her way up to her perch and smiling down at the boys. "Just like that," she told them with a grin and waved slightly.

"Smooth," Tamaki said appreciatively and gave her foot a sharp tap to indicate his approval. Aiden lost her balance and teetered precariously before finally falling forward. Kaoru moved under her instantly and caught her, gripping her waist tightly as she put her hands on his shoulders to cushion the fall.

"Thanks!" she said brightly and let go of his shoulders. She covered a yawn with her hand and looked at her watch on her opposite wrist. "One in the morning already?" she demanded and looked up at the guys. Kyouya nodded at her. "Do you want to continue playing or call it a night?"

"I'm beat," Haruhi admitted and stretched. "I think I'll turn in for the night." A general chorus of agreements sounded and the group slowly trooped into the main house and to their rooms.

* * *

Vannen: Well that's the end and there's the wonderful button down in the left hand corner which I'd love for you all to click on and give me feed back. I do like corrections and constructive criticism as long as they're not in flame format. If I get flamed, I usually ignore it, just to warn you. Again, votes for relationships are still being taken as I'm sure you've guessed. I'll keep working on this. May your day be a good one! Until the next chapter, keep on dreaming! (I mean that in a good way!) 


	4. The Capture

Author's Note: Well here we are again with a long awaited update (at least I hope it's been awaited by some people). I'm sorry for the wait, truly I am. Like I said in the last chapter, school tends to slow things down. As it is, this semester is looking to be a lot easier than last so I should be able to update more often if I can keep a steady stream of ideas going (if you have ideas, I'll be willing to listen to them. I may not use them, but I might as well. We'll see what happens). There's a lot of my OC's background in this chapter, just to warn you. If you feel I've messed something up terribly, tell me. I'll see what I can do to correct it. Thanks to all my readers and, as always, a special thanks to those that review. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Still don't own OHSHC. If you get a little confused about the boat that's in this chapter, just google an image of it. There are a lot of pictures on it so you should be able to find a good one.

* * *

Chapter 4 

The Capture

Haruhi and Aiden stepped out onto the dock, their flip flops slapping against the wood and their feet in turn.

"We're doing what?" Haruhi demanded, looking at the contraption waiting for them.

"Going sailing," Tamaki informed them. "Now come on!" He ordered, giving them both a nudge towards the boat.

"Do you even know how?" Aiden wondered skeptically as she dug her heals into the wood to keep from being forced near the water.

"No, but that's why Kyouya is here. He does."

Aiden gulped audibly as Tamaki finally got her to the edge of the wood. She eyed the cloth where she'd be sitting warily.

"I can only take two at a time," Kyouya informed the blond as Haruhi stepped calmly down onto the canvas stretched in a square.

Tamaki immediately looked to Aiden.

"Go right ahead," she said and stepped out of his way, sweeping an arm out in a rather exaggerated bow. Tamaki ruffled her hair fondly before sitting next to Haruhi. Kyouya released the rope keeping the boat next to the dock and pulled a few other ropes attached to the mainsail and the jib before lifting a bar at the back until a pair of rudders dropped into the water behind the pontoons. Keeping the bar in his right hand, he arranged the ropes around him in easy reach before pulling one. The mainsail went tight and they were soon gliding across the water, out to sea.

Aiden watched from the dock, sitting on the edge. She'd heard of these sailboats called "hobie cats" and didn't trust the double pontoon catamarans, especially where the place where those riding on it sat. The canvas tarp called a "trampoline" was stretched in a square of metal about four inches above the pontoons. The ships were fairly stable but could tip with the right wind and if the person in control didn't know what they were doing. She stayed at the docks edge, not paying attention to the world around her.

"Gotcha!"

Aiden jumped and squirmed, trying to get out of the grip of the person holding her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of red hair; one of the twins. "What do you think you're doing? Let me go!" She ordered, fighting in his grip.

"That wouldn't be fun though," the missing twin appeared, "right Kaoru?"

"Right."

"I'm going to kill you both," Aiden growled dangerously.

"Sure you will," Hikaru said, reaching out to pat her head and snatched it back when the girl attempted to bite him, "but in the meantime, you're coming with us." They started carting Aiden unceremoniously away.

Hani and Mori saw the twins carrying the girl and started advancing on them.

"Hikaru, I think we need the mob now."

Hikaru nodded and, with a malicious grin, he pressed a little red button on the black remote he'd been carrying. Instantly, screams could be heard and a mob of fangirls raced onto the beach, straight at the two hapless seniors. Hikaru and Kaoru were overlooked, due to the sack cloth they'd quickly thrown over their forms, successfully shielding them and Aiden from the mass of raging females.

"I really hate you both," the captive grumbled when she realized where they were taking her.

"We know," Hikaru drawled.

"Does this have anything to do with more of your mother's clothing designs?"

"Not really," Kaoru told her. "The purpose doesn't."

"Never mind, I probably don't want to know what you two have cooked up this time around."

The twins snickered.

By the time Hani and Mori lost the mob of fangirls, they looked as if someone had dragged them across a minefield and then down a large, sharp, pointy rocked road behind a truck. Neither seemed too happy about it either. They caught sight of Hikaru as he strolled casually down the beach. They advanced on him, murder in their eyes. He waved casually and pushed the button he held in the hand behind his back. The mob of fangirls appeared again, eyes set on the oldest members of the Host Club. Smirking, Hikaru went the other direction, heading to where Kyouya, Tamaki, and Haruhi were docking.

"Haruhi!" he called when he was closer. "Can I borrow you for a minute?" He grinned cheerily at her.

Warily, Haruhi agreed to follow him back to the house, listening to his pathetic excuses for a reason. The moment she stepped through the front doors, she knew she was in trouble.

"Where's Aiden-kun, Haruhi, and the twins?" Tamaki asked minutes later, looking up and down the beach. Mori and Hani were visible in the distance.

"That is the wrong combination of people to have missing," Kyouya murmured absently as he made sure the sails were laid flat on the catamaran so they wouldn't get caught in the wind.

Tamaki glanced at his friend, processing his words. When they finally clicked, the blond cried out in alarm before sprinting towards the house. Kyouya followed, motioning for Hani and Mori to do the same.

Music floated from the ballroom, and the four young men traded slightly alarmed glances before Tamaki pushed the door open. Inside, they found Hikaru and Kaoru in tuxes while Aiden and Haruhi, dressed in formal dresses with more fabric than was necessary in the skirts, glared daggers at the twins.

"What is going on?" Tamaki demanded of the twins, eyes flashing in anger.

"Don't you want to dance with these two?" Hikaru questioned, slinging an arm around both girls' shoulders, a devilish grin on his face.

"We thought a private ball for just us would be a wonderful idea," Kaoru added. "We're always pretending that they're boys so we can't treat them like girls. We couldn't pass up this opportunity."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Tamaki pondered aloud.

"I loath you all," Aiden snarled, trying to inch from the room so she could escape the confines of the gown she wore. Haruhi was right behind her. "I thought you said this didn't have anything to do with your mother's latest clothing line."

"We said the purpose of why we were doing this wasn't," Kaoru clarified.

"Relax and have some fun," Hikaru coaxed as he stopped them. "It's just us here so you don't have to worry about the rest of the school."

"I don't care what the rest of the school thinks," Aiden snapped.

"Can we just go back to enjoying the day on the beach?" Haruhi demanded.

"Nope!" the twins replied cheerfully.

"There are custom fit tuxes for you four in the other room," Kaoru informed the other hosts. "We shall wait for you to change."

"I'm getting ready to blow off this club," Aiden muttered to Haruhi who nodded in reply.

Within minutes the rest of the young men returned, dressed in black tuxes.

Haruhi rubbed her forehead. "We're not getting out of this," she grumbled quietly so only Aiden heard. Louder, she said, "How is this going to work? There's six of you and two of us."

"It'll be fine," Kaoru assured the girls and pulled a remote for the stereo out. He changed the song to something a little more modern than the classical that had been playing. "Now, would you care to dance?" He bowed to Aiden. Grumbling mentally, the girl complied as Hikaru claimed Haruhi for a dance as well.

When the first song ended, a swing started. Kyouya went to Haruhi. Blushing slightly, she explained she didn't know how to swing.

"Then I'll show you," Kyouya informed her, taking her hands in his. He started explaining the basic steps even as he moved her through them. Soon the two were dancing fairly well with Haruhi messing up only on occasion. She took a moment to glance at where Aiden was.

She and Tamaki moved fluidly, the Irish girl's feet kicking out, barely avoiding the French boy's. The two kept up a steady beat, using more complex steps, Aiden holding her dress off the floor in one hand so she wouldn't trip over or rip the hem. She and Tamaki started laughing as the song ended. "This dress is not practical," she managed through gasps, "at least not for swing."

"We'll warn you next time a swing or any other fast dance starts," Kaoru told her. "There's plenty of dresses for you to choose from that would work better."

"Then why the heck am I in this monstrosity?" the girl demanded.

"But you look so cute," Tamaki protested.

"It's still impractical," she replied.

Meawhile, Kyouya had let go of one of Haruhi's hands. He bowed over the other. "Thank you," he murmured, and placed a small kiss on her fingers.

"You're welcome Kyouya-senpai," she replied, trying hard not to blush.

Another song started, this time a waltz. Haruhi joined Mori and Aiden stepped back from the others. "I can't waltz to save my life," she explained.

Hani smiled up at her. "I'm not very good either," he informed her. "Will you still dance with me?" After a moment of trying to resist, she accepted and took the smaller but older youth's hands and danced around the floor with him, finding it very hard to resist the loli-shota's pleading face.

Kaoru and Hikaru had their heads together as they watched the girls dance with the other members of the host club. Kyouya kept an eye on them over his shoulder but decided that whatever they planned couldn't be too bad. They'd handled everything they'd dished out so far.

The next song was very different. It started out with a simple piano melody, fairly melancholy. Still, Aiden started grinning widely as she turned to the twins. "American music?" she demanded, "And the version from an American satirical movie?"

"We thought you'd like it," Kaoru told her, even as a good beat started. Aiden couldn't help it; she started dancing, Haruhi standing beside her.

"Well come on," Aiden ordered the others. "This is a dance isn't it? Dance!" She started bouncing around with the music, her hands moving with her body and the dress moving every which way with the rest of her. The further into the song, the more animated she got. Shrugging, Haruhi joined her, and the two danced, back-to-back. Soon, the guys were around them. Aiden started singing with the music, a wide grin on her face. "_I need a hero/ I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night/ He's gotta be strong/ And he's gotta be fast/ And he's gotta be fresh from the fight!" _They continued to dance, the girls turning in different directions so they could face each of the boys. Each of the young men had their own style and the girls would adapt to it until they moved a bit more to the next one.

By the end of the song, Haruhi's curled and carefully pinned up hair was a total mess, having been flung around as she danced. Aiden had lucked out, considering her hair was barely over an inch long and had been spiked in the back and laid flat in front so it wouldn't be messed up very easily. They laughed at each other and at the guys who had no idea what was going on, if only just to confuse them as well.

"Well my feet hurt," Haruhi declared and sat on one of the couches along the walls. She pulled off the high-healed sandals and set them aside. Aiden followed her example, sighing in relief when the footwear no longer resided on her feet.

"Where'd you learn to dance?" Haruhi asked, looking at Aiden.

"High school in the United States," she replied. "I was on the freshman ballroom dance team there. I mostly did swing, samba, hip-hop, jazz, and salsa. The more 'refined' dances, I never learned. My teacher tried to teach me, but I'm a hopeless case in that area. Told me I moved to quickly for it."

"You did seem to be rather energetic," Kyouya observed quietly. Aiden shrugged.

"If you were a freshman in the United States, why are you still one now?" Kaoru asked.

"Some public schools work differently there," Aiden explained. "Grades nine through twelve are in the high schools. It's strange, but it works when you live in an area where there aren't many students."

"_Public_ school?" Tamaki demanded. "You went to a _public_ school?"

"I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?" Aiden asked with a sigh.

"Probably not," Haruhi replied solemnly. "Be ready for more questions than you're going to want to handle."

"Why did you go to a public school, Aiden-chan?" Hani jumped up onto the couch next to her.

She looked up at the ceiling. "It was my father's idea," she responded. "His fortune was self-made and he believes that we should live the same way he did. If we want something, we have to work to get it for ourselves. That's why I started in public schools and am at Ouran on scholarships instead of him just paying for it. Except for the moving to foreign countries every other year or so, we live like any other 'commoner,' as you put it."

She was met with blank stares.

"So your parents do claim you, they just want you to know of the life they lived," Kyouya remarked.

"Well yeah," Aiden retorted. "What makes you think my parents wouldn't claim me?"

"What about your siblings?" Haruhi wondered, effectively saving Kyouya from having to answer the awkward question.

"My oldest brother is in college in the States still and my other brother goes to one of the lower ranked schools here. My sister is still in middle school. She'll be trying to get into Ouran in two years, that is, if we still live in Japan."

The seven people around her took the information in, storing it away for their own purposes.

"We're wasting time," Hikaru finally announced. "Girls, if you'd like to go change into dresses more suited to faster dances, we'll resume the fun."

Groaning, Haruhi and Aiden stood and headed for a side door, following the twins to where more dresses awaited them.

"Well, stalling didn't work," Haruhi murmured to Aiden. "What do we do now?"

"No idea," the Irish girl replied crestfallen.

The twins left them with a new dress each to change into.

"What do you suppose Aiden-kun meant by 'if we still live in Japan?'" Kaoru wondered he and his brother approached the other four young men.

"The Scadden family has moved from one country to another an average of once every year and a half. She probably thinks they'll move again before she graduates from high school," Kyouya replied

Kaoru's eyes grew slightly. "She'll move?" he demanded in slight shock.

"Maybe," Kyouya said, "I don't know but if they follow their previous pattern, Aiden-san will move sometime in late winter or early spring of next year."

He was met with a stony silence for a few moments.

"Aiden-kun was sent to public schools before now," Tamaki breathed in awe. "I can't help but wonder what it was like."

"I bet it was fun," Hani chimed in.

"Think again, Hani-senpai." Aiden came into the ballroom. "Public school is a living nightmare, especially freshman year in a high school. Seniors don't have it as bad but it's still gruesome." She smoothed her hands over the skirt of the knee length black dress, with three red stripes running from the right side of her waist to the left hem. Haruhi was right behind her in a light blue dress with three white stripes running in the opposite direction.

"Really?" Hikaru inquired, interest piqued.

"I am not reliving those memories," Aiden informed him quickly before he could start asking further questions.

"Haruhi! You're so adorable!" Tamaki grabbed the girl into a tight embrace, spinning her around wildly. She endured it as well as she could.

"Let's get this dance going before My Lord suffocates Haruhi-kun." Hikaru turned on the stereo, a samba sounding through the room.

"Care to dance?" Hikaru asked Aiden, bowing to her.

"I think I can handle a samba," she replied, taking his hand and following him away from the others. Soon the two were zipping around the dance floor in one of the easier sambas. "Where did all of you learn to dance?" she asked, keeping pace and following Hikaru's lead.

"We were all taught privately since we were little, some longer than others. My Lord took them the longest out of all of us, but centered mostly in the more classical dances such as the waltz. He can't salsa to save his life and hip hop is simply out of the question."

Aiden cast a glance at where the Frenchman was dancing with Haruhi. "He seems pretty good at swing and that's fairly modern compared to most," she commented.

"We spent weeks teaching him."

"Ah." They fell silent as Hikaru pushed them into more difficult steps.

"You're very good," Hikaru complimented her at the end of the song even as he escorted her back to the small group in time for a salsa to start. Hani claimed Haruhi considering the small youth wouldn't push her into complex moves and Mori bowed to Aiden, one hand stretched out to her. She accepted.

"We really should work on Haruhi's ballroom dancing repertoire," Tamaki told the others as he sat on the couch. "The more she knows, the more she can dance at the club dances we'll be hosting this year."

"I'll keep that in mind," Kyouya informed him, his eyes watching the subject of their conversation.

"I get the feeling Aiden-kun's specialty was salsa," Kaoru said, watching the other girl and the second oldest of the group. The two danced quickly and close together, using the most complex moves in the dance, Mori able to lift and shift her easily due to her small size.

"She _is_ really good," Hikaru replied. "Maybe I should try the more complex moves with her."

"Too late now," his twin reminded him.

"I'll just wait for the next chance to dance with her."

When the salsa ended, a tango started. Kyouya danced with Aiden and Haruhi danced with Kaoru, thus finished off the first round of dances for everyone. The small party continued for another two hours with the girls dancing constantly. When they were finally aloud to leave and change, Haruhi looked as if she just wanted to strangle everyone while Aiden looked as if she'd fall asleep where she stood. The guys were fine and planned to go plan Kick the Can until dinner time.

* * *

Aiden flopped onto one of the couches once she'd changed back into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "We have _got _to do something about this," she told Haruhi. 

"About what?"

"The twins' tricks and the support they get from the others," Aiden clarified, "especially when we're considered to be the toys."

Haruhi shrugged. "You get used to it," she replied, propping her feet up.

"You don't want to get even?" the Irish girl asked, slightly amazed.

"They're not so bad," Haruhi replied absently. "They're rich people that don't know how to take care of themselves hardly, but in a sense, they're really quite fun when they're not trying to kill me and every once in a while they'll do something good that makes me happy to be a part of the club."

Aiden let one eyebrow rise in curiosity before turning to luck out the window and think the problem over. "I still want to get even," she mumbled after a while, "especially for the torture of walking in those shoes, let alone dancing in them."

"Let me guess," Haruhi sighed, "you're the evil member of your family."

"And I'm dang proud of it," she replied with a smirk. She glanced over at Haruhi. "What?" Aiden demanded, noting the slightly scared look the other girl was giving her.

"Your smile…" she started, almost afraid to continue.

"What about it?"

"It's as scary as Kyouya-senpai's."

Aiden shrugged. "Sorry, I'll refrain from using it except on special occasions."

"Thank you." Haruhi breathed a sigh of relief.

The door opened and Tamaki poked his head in. "Aiden-kun?" he asked, "Kyouya's taking the boat out for one last trip. Did you want to go?"

"I guess I could," the girl replied grudgingly as she slowly climbed to her feet. "Go tell him I'll be out in a minute. I'll go change." She disappeared. When she came back, dressed in board-shorts and a t-shirt, she found Tamaki carefully picking up a sleeping Haruhi.

"Kyouya's waiting for you," he told her quietly. "Go ahead. He's just down at the dock. I'll take care of her."

Once outside, Aiden started thinking better of her decision to go sailing, even as her traitorous feet carried her down to the shore where the resident Shadow King waited for her. When she finally made it to the edge of the wood, she paused, afraid to get on.

"Aiden-san?" Kyouya asked , looking up at her. "Are you coming?"

"Uh… yeah," she replied and carefully stepped onto the boat, wobbling until Kyouya caught her arm and steadied her, helping her onto the opposite side of the boat.

After a few ropes were pulled, the sails tightened and the catamaran coasted easily away from the dock, propelled by the slight wind. A small splash sounded as the rudders were dropped into the water so the young man could steer.

"Alright, switch sides," he ordered, giving Aiden a slight nudge towards the far side of the boat. Carefully, she moved, crawling on her hands and knees across the unstable cloth surface. Kyouya followed, tugging ropes and pulling the sails tighter as the boat turned.

"Are you afraid of water, Aiden-san?" Kyouya asked, pushing his glasses up his nose and shifting the rudder slightly with his right hand.

The Irish girl glanced at him through the corner of her eye. "I've just never been sailing before," she admitted, relaxing her death grip on the edge of the boat.

"You lived on an island for several years of your life and you've never gone sailing," the young man repeated in a slightly disbelieving tone. He pulled the ropes, the sails tightened more, and they picked up speed, sending spray across the pontoons in the water.

"No," Aiden replied. "I know how to swim and stuff and we had a yacht and a speed boat so I was out in the ocean a lot. I even did some wakeboarding, but I never went sailing before. I've seen boats like this, and I've kind of wanted to try it, but I never got the chance."

Kyouya nodded. After another quick check of all the crisscrossing ropes, he handed her one. "This is to the jib," he informed her, pointing to the smaller sail at the front of the boat. "Pull on the rope and release it by flicking the rope when I tell you," he ordered. "Pull on it." She did so. "That's good." He gave another rope behind him a good yank. "Hold on," he ordered even as the side of the boat they sat on started to rise out of the water.

Aiden started yelling at him in rather fast, strange sounding English. He caught one phrase that sounded normal. "What are you doing?!" She demanded with a few other choice words in the sentence as she hooked her free arm around the side of the trampoline, keeping a death grip on the rope he'd handed her in her other hand. Everything else that came out of her mouth was once again in a hurried dialect he didn't understand.

"Probably Irish slang and profanities," he decided mentally. "Just hold on," he repeated aloud with a smile and pulled the mainsail tighter. They rose higher until they were vertical. Kyouya planted his feet into a strip of cloth sewen into the trampoline. Aiden followed his example shakily, eyes wide in fear.

"Release it," Kyouya ordered as he gave the rope to the back of the mainsail a good snap but holding it tightly. "Don't let it go slack too fast unless you want to fall over backwards." Aiden obeyed and slowly gave the rope in her hands slack, little by little. At the same time, Kyouya did as well and the pontoon that had been out of the water slowly dropped back in, creating more spray as they slowed down.

"You're insane!" Aiden snapped at him, glaring over her shoulder.

"Switch sides," he replied calmly even as he moved, completely ignoring her comment. Soon, he had that side of the boat in the air and he held it much longer, keeping an eye on the girl next to him so she wouldn't panic too much. Finally, he coasted back to the dock and let the sails free.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked warmly.

"I should kill you right here," Aiden growled, stumbling onto the dock and shaking badly. She continued to curse him in another language.

"That does you no good," Kyouya told her as he started pulling the sails down with some difficulty. "My English vocabulary holds a very limited amount of vulgar language."

"Then you'll never understand me," she replied. "I'm not using your typical English language." She took a moment to regain control over her anger. "I have a tendency to slip into actual Irish-Gaelic when I'm angry or upset. It's my first language and comes a little more naturally than anything else. There were a few phrases in what a lot of people call 'British' though."

Kyouya nodded, finishing tying the boat up to the dock. He'd put it away later, once he was sure he wouldn't be taking anyone else out that afternoon.

* * *

The next morning, Tamaki ran into the dining room after going to wake up Aiden. "She's gone!" he gasped, leaning on the doorframe. 

"Who?" Hikaru inquired lazily.

"Aiden!" All eyes turned to him.

"What do you mean 'she's gone?'" Kaoru demanded. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know," the Frenchman replied, close to tears. "I went to wake her up for breakfast and she wasn't in her room."

"Calm down," Haruhi coaxed. "There's probably a logical explanation for her absence."

Tamaki ran his hands through his hair. "She wasn't too happy about the dance yesterday and Kyouya said he didn't think she liked sailing all that much. We've offended her. She ran away! She'll get lost and get attacked by a crazy old hermit!" He started pulling at his hair. "Get Kyouya," he ordered, turning to the twins. "We've got to find her before she gets hurt!"

The twins jumped to do as ordered, somehow fueled by their leader's frenzied mannerisms.

"Hani-senpai, where's Mori-senpai?" the blond continued.

"Outside, going through his morning training."

"Go get him. Time is limited!"

Within minutes, the entire club, minus the musician, was gathered in the dining room, some a little more tired than others.

"What's going on?" Kyouya snarled, pushing his glasses up his nose in irritation. Mori watched with a slightly questioning look on his face.

"Aiden-kun's missing," Haruhi told him. "Tamaki-senpai's blowing this completely out of proportion."

"Missing?"

"She wasn't in her room this morning," Tamaki informed him, close to tears now. "We must organize a search party and find her. Hikaru-kun, Kaoru-kun, search the building, don't leave any niche out. Kyouya, Haruhi, take the beach. Hani-senpai, Mori-senpai, the orchard, and I'll take the gardens. If anyone finds any trace of her, call the others. Got it?"

"Yes sir!"

Mori started heading outside.

"Yep!"

"You're blowing this out of proportion."

"I'm going back to sleep. She'll show up later."

"Kyouya! Don't you care about what happens to her? She could be hurt!"

"Who could be hurt?"

The group turned to the doorway. Aiden stood there in a t-shirt and a pair of running shorts.

"Aiden-kun! You're alright!" Tamaki caught her in a hug.

"Continue your current actions and you won't be," she groused. Tamaki let her go and hid in his corner of despair. Sighing, Aiden looked to the others for an explanation.

"Where did you go?" Hikaru asked.

"You had us all worried," Kaoru added.

"I just went for a run," she replied, confused as to what they were talking about. "Mori-senpai saw me leaving."

"Takashi?"

The senior nodded and went back outside to finish his morning training session.

"Why didn't he say something?" Hikaru wondered.

"He probably tried," Haruhi said, "except when Tamaki-senpai gets an idea in his head, it's hard to stop him."

"That's Tono for you," the twins chorused shrugging.

"You two were backing him up," Haruhi muttered.

"Whatever," Aiden interjected and headed for the kitchen. Moments later, she went back outside where she started doing basic exercise such as pushups and crunches.

"I'm hungry," Hani declared. Sighing, Haruhi went to cook for the entire club, wondering why she was the one always given such tasks. Oh yeah, no one besides her and Aiden knew how to cook. Lucky them.

* * *

"I went out for a run and you all panicked," Aiden surmised that afternoon as they sat down to a lunch of sandwiches again. "Why?" 

"We thought we'd offended you," Tamaki said. "You act so much like a commoner that it's as if you're an entirely different race. We don't know anything about you, your world, and what is appropriate."

"That's silly. Commoner, rich, dirt poor, it doesn't matter. People are people; manners are the same for everyone although the rich seem to be more focused on them."

"That's what I've tried to explain more than once," Haruhi told her. "If you can succeed in getting it through their thick skulls, I'll be forever in your debt…" She trailed off, remembering the reason why she was in such an absurd club in the first place. "Well, maybe not that."

"That's not entirely true though," Hani said. "Commoners and the rich don't intermingle. There are different standards for different social classes."

"Social classes," Aiden repeated and received a nod. "Are they really that thick in Japan? Is everyone defined by how much money they have? You can't associate with those that are below or above you?"

"Pretty much," the twins replied.

"Isn't it like that everywhere?" Tamaki demanded. "It was in France."

"Not in the United States," Aiden said. "I had all sorts of friends. Granted, there is a little bit, but it doesn't stop anyone from being friends. We choose our friends. The wealthy portions in America have no problems associating with the poorer, at least where I lived. Heck, my best friend wore hand-me-downs from her older sister until she was about fourteen because the family couldn't afford it. The only reason they could then was because her sister went to college. It was a good thing she had scholarships or they wouldn't have been able to afford it anyway."

"Such poor friends?" Tamaki demanded.

"They weren't poor," she snapped. "They were middle class. Most of my friends were that way. I don't know if it's different in big cities but out in the country, no one really cares."

"Strange…." The twins murmured, looking at each other.

"You all should really come with me when I go visit them for summer break. You'd be so confused, it would be hilarious."

"You want to us to go with you so you can get a laugh?" Tamaki demanded.

"It would also be a good experience."

"But Haru-chan can't go. She doesn't have a passport."

"We'll get started on that. It's not like they're impossible to get."

"It's decided then," Tamaki said, jumping to his feet. "We'll go to the United States for summer vacation."

"Don't I get a say in whether or not I go?" Haruhi inquired petulantly.

"Apparently not," Kyouya replied. "It seems I don't either."

"This summer could get very interesting." Haruhi sighed. "Can I just live through this semester first?"

A soft chuckle issued from Kyouya as the more vocal members of the group started making the plans for the trip in a few months.

* * *

Author's Note: Well I hope you all enjoyed it. Feel free to tell me what you think by pushing the little button in the corner. I respond well to constructive critisism, as long as it's not in the form of a flame. I'm still taking votes for relationships. I don't know for how much longer so if you have an idea on who'd you like to see paired with who, I'm willing to take your vote into account. The highest amount of votes will probably win, unless I have already pushed the story in a clearly opposite direction already. Then again, I can always change things up a bit, so I'll still take your votes into consideration. I hope you're all enjoying this and I'll see you the next chapter. Have fun all! 


	5. Travel Pains

Author's Note: Well, I actually got a thought process going. I hope you're all enjoying this. I've got the start of the next chapter going and hopefully it'll come through fairly easily. I'm sorry I've been lazy for a while. It's been a pain trying to go to school, work, and keep up with this. However, this semester is rather easy, so I have a lot of time. This is the last chapter I'm taking votes on relationships, so get them in if you want. So far, hte votes on Haruhi's relationships are pretty close to tied so she needs lots of votes. Aiden's pretty one sided but there aren't many so it is still possible to tip the scales. Have fun with that!

Disclaimer: Yeah, don't own it.

Chapter 5

Traveling Pains

The Fujioka residence seemed very clean at the beginning of the day. However, all good things must come to an end. Haruhi flung everything she came across out of her closet, leaving the room looking like a nuclear war zone.

"Why is everything dirty?" she wondered. "I could have sworn I just did laundry the other day." She pulled out some of the only clean clothes she had; there were a grand total of two pairs of jeans and three shirts. Grumbling she started the laundry, cleaning all of her and her father's clothes.

After she had the dark colors churning merrily away in the washing machine, she grabbed a book and went into the living room to read. It's not like she had anything else to do. Once settled, she cracked the book open, only to have the first sentence interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Muttering under her breath, Haruhi got up and answered the door.

"What are you two doing here?" she demanded, looking up at Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Aiden-kun suggested you might need help packing, considering you've never gone out of the country before," Kaoru informed her as he kicked his shoes off next to the door.

"We thought we'd give you a hand and make sure you didn't forget anything vital for your first trip to America." Hikaru looked around the now messy apartment. "What all do you have done anyway?"

"I feel so blessed," Haruhi replied dryly under her breath before speaking louder. "Not much," she admitted. "I have to wait for the laundry to get done first before I can do anything."

"What else do you plan on taking?" Kaoru inquired.

"Just clothes and things to stay clean with," she told him as she sat back down.

The twins looked at her like she was insane. "You're joking, right?" they chorused.

Sighing, Haruhi pulled a pad of paper and a pencil toward her. "What all am I going to need?" she asked, knowing she was probably going to hate the results of these two interfering.

"It's summer and it's going to be hot so sunscreen," Hikaru said.

"A hat, something with a brim like a baseball cap," Kaoru added.

"Sandals and shorts mostly. One or two pairs of long pants won't be bad but you don't want to be wearing them all the time. You'll get too hot."

"A swim suit although we can supply that if you want."

"I'll handle it," Haruhi groused.

"Chap-stick is something everyone always forgets," Hikaru continued as if he hadn't heard her.

"A jacket." Kaoru looked up, trying to think of anything else.

"A backpack of some kind, to carry stuff around in."

"A camera's a must for any first visit to a different country."

"Aiden-kun said we might go hiking so sturdy shoes. Can you think of anything more Kaoru?"

"Not off the top of my head but that's why we're here. If we see anything, we can always pull it out."

Haruhi finished jotting down the rest of what they said and stood. "I'll go see how the laundry's doing," she told them.

"We'll give you a hand." Kaoru jumped to his feet, his brother right behind him.

"Don't you guys have packing of your own to do?" Haruhi demanded irritably.

"We have people to do that for us," Hikaru said, pulling the door to the laundry room open.

"Of course you would," Haruhi muttered darkly. She glanced around, wondering why she was hearing water running. Had she forgotten to turn the sink faucet off in the kitchen when she'd started to make tea?

"Haruhi, is the floor supposed to be wet?" Kaoru wondered, looking down.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded as she took a step into the room. "The floor's not- What the-?!" She cursed loudly, jumped back, colliding with the two behind her before racing into the room and searching behind the washing machine. "Drain valve, drain valve," she muttered frantically and finally reached behind washer. The sound of running water stopped and she sighed in relief.

"What's wrong?" Kaoru asked.

"I forgot to open the drain valve," she informed them as she grabbed some already dirty towels and started mopping up the worst of the water. "We have to keep it closed if we're not doing the laundry at the time or the entire building can flood."

"That's strange," Hikaru said and the twins joined her in cleaning up the worst of the mess.

"I've never heard you use those words before," Kaoru told Haruhi. "I didn't think you knew them."

"How could I not with you lot using them all the time," she retorted. "I'm sorry though. It just kind of slipped."

"Don't apologize to us," Hikaru ordered. "We don't really care."

They continued working. When their towels were sopping and Haruhi had changed batches, they settled down again in the living room, talking calmly, or as calmly as the twins would allow.

* * *

Suou Tamaki ran around his room, trying to decide which clothing was appropriate for the United States. It didn't help that Aiden hadn't told him exactly what area they would be visiting. What if they went to New York? He'd have to look suave and sophisticated. What if they went to Miami? He'd have to be cool. What if they went to Hollywood? That just opened all sorts of doors! What about Texas? He'd have to find some cowboy clothing. Did he even own any? What about Alaska? He'd freeze to death if he didn't bring the right clothing. 

"Young Master," a servant called from his doorway.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy trying to figure out where we're going?" he cried, distressed.

"I apologize, but you have a phone call."

"Can't it wait?"

"I'm sorry young master, but the caller said it was urgent that you hear this."

Finally, Tamaki raced out of his room to answer the phone in the hallway. "Moshi moshi?"

"Tamaki-senpai, this is Aiden. I forgot to tell you where we're going."

"Aiden-kun! Thank heavens! I thought I was going to loose it. I had no idea where we were going and…" he started to ramble on.

"That's great, Tamaki-senpai. Just don't panic. Casual clothing that you would wear normally will be fine. Bring one or two outfits to go clubbing in but nothing too crazy. We're not going to any large city so just give it a rest. Oh, and plenty of stuff you can get dirty in. We're going camping at least once. I'll see you at the airport." She hung up.

Tamaki did as well, heading back for his room, the weight on his shoulders much lighter.

* * *

Ootori Kyouya pushed his computer into the backpack specially designed to carry the laptop. Glancing around his room, he made sure he had everything he wanted or needed for the trip before sitting down and propping his feet up. 

A knock sounded on his door. Looking up he bade whoever was there enter. In walked one of the family servants. "Your father would like to speak to you, Ootori-san," he said with a bow.

"I'll be there in a moment," Kyouya replied, wondering what his father could have to discuss with him. Probably business. Quickly running his fingers through his hair, to make sure it was all in place, he left his room and went to his father's study where he was sure the man would be waiting.

He knocked carefully on the door and entered when told to.

"Kyouya, please sit down. I wish to discuss something with you."

Kyouya sat even as his quick mind started calculating solutions to any problems with the company.

Yoshio folded his hands in front of his face as he took a moment to study his youngest son. The boy he remembered was barely visible anymore. His son had grown from the stable youth who never expected to beat his brothers for possession of the company, to being quick, calculating, manipulative, and unpredictable. He'd proven this when he'd gone behind his father and purchased the company without anyone the wiser until after all the papers were signed. The boy was a genius. Sadly, he was too cold for his own good. Something had to change and it would probably start soon.

"What is it, Otousan?" Kyouya asked after a moment of silence. "Has something happened in the company that I'm not aware of?"

"No Kyouya, this has nothing to do with the company."

The young man blinked before shifting his head ever so slightly so the setting sun streaming through the windows would glance off his glasses, hiding the slightly shocked expression on his eyes.

"Otousan?"

"You are soon going to be eighteen and with that comes certain matters that must be settled."

"Marriage," Kyouya surmised quickly, letting his head drop back into place. He kept his guard up however. This could turn out badly.

"Indeed," Yoshio murmured, expecting no less than his son coming to the conclusion so quickly. "I would like to discuss with you a number of possible brides."

Kyouya settled more comfortably in his chair. It was going to be a long morning.

* * *

Haninozuka Mitskuni zipped around, making sure he had everything he would need. He and Takashi had been the last to leave the school the day before so they'd had the chance to talk to Aiden-chan about their trip. According to her, they'd be doing many things. She said they'd be in a country state in the northern United States where they'd be able to go hiking, horseback riding, camping, fishing, and pretty much anything else they could think of to do during the summer. 

He couldn't help but feel something amazing would happen during this trip. Maybe not for him, but for one of the other hosts. Excitement filled the vertically challenged senior as he placed another folded shirt into his suitcase.

"The country will be different, Usa-chan," he told his stuffed rabbit that sat on his bed, seemingly watching him. "We've been to big cities like New York where there's plenty of places to go, but never to the country. Aiden-chan said we'll get to go horseback riding and camping once we've settled down a bit."

Usa-chan stared back at him.

"It'll be great!" Hani jumped a little and continued bouncing around as he finished packing.

* * *

Morinozuka Takashi sat back in his chair, his bags already packed with many hours to spare. Inwardly, he could hardly contain his anticipation for the trip but outwardly, he was his usual stolid and calm self. 

He'd been to the United States before with his family but he'd been really little. He could barely remember anything about the place. Really, the only thing that was clear was sitting in a seat on a balcony and looking down at a darkly lit stage. There were pictures of them outside a theater and his parents had told him that they'd gone to see a Broadway play and that was probably what he remembered.

He really wondered if this trip to the country would be fun. He liked the outdoors a lot, but would the others?

Tamaki was likely to panic at every little thing that might upset Haruhi in the least. He'd be helpless if it came down to them cooking their own food and how would he react to sleeping outside when they went camping? He could already hear the Frenchman's cry of indignation and fear.

Kyouya would take it in stride as he did everything else. It was a little difficult to see the Ootori youth doing anything as uncivilized as backpacking, but he'd probably be okay. He was resourceful enough anyway. He'd also be the one to make sure no one did anything incredibly stupid and make sure Tamaki didn't get himself killed.

Hikaru and Kaoru would treat it like a game. In all actuality, that wasn't that bad of an idea. There was a lot to do in the outdoors but only if you worked to keep yourself occupied. They'd make sure there wasn't a dull moment and of course, they'd be doing everything they could to make Tamaki's life miserable. Ah yes, the screams of fear were becoming louder.

Haruhi would look at it practically. Life would be good and simple, she'd help Aiden keep the campsite from being destroyed and even find time to help with the cooking. She'd just have to deal with Tamaki being childish and whining. It's not like the young girl hadn't been able to take care of herself in the first place. She was independent. He liked that about her. Still, if she needed help, he'd be glad to give it.

Mitskuni would be fine. Mori would be there to take care of him if his smaller cousin needed anything anyway. Besides, Mitskuni could take care of himself when he needed to. He'd been proving that since he was little. Still, Mori didn't take chances. He'd always be there to protect his cousin if he was needed.

Aiden had suggested the trip so there were no worries about her. She knew where they were going, she knew what was available to them, and she knew how to read the land, or at least, she better or they'd all be in trouble. The only thing that might become bad with her was her health problems. He didn't know what all she suffered from but she wouldn't put herself in danger, would she?

Ah well. He'd worry about things later. He should leave for the airport soon anyway. Picking up his suitcase, Mori headed out the doors and climbed into the Mercedes waiting for him.

* * *

Scadden Aiden sat on her bed, her duffel bag and carryon already packed and waiting for when she'd leave soon. In the meantime though, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive about the trip back to her home of an average of about five years. Granted, none had been consecutive, but she still had fond memories of the United States and the little city she'd lived in. Would anyone remember her there? 

Alright, so that wasn't what was really bothering her, she admitted to herself. She was always welcomed back to the country area. Everyone knew everyone basically so she wasn't worried about being forgotten. Then what was bothering her.

Lying back, she stared at her ceiling in annoyance. Sometimes her mind took the oddest turns. In America or Ireland or any other place she'd lived for that matter, she'd never been interested in what type of friends she had or how deep those relationships went. If she had friends, that was great, but if they weren't that close, that was alright too because she'd probably move within two years anyway. Now though, with this Host Club thing going and having friends in six very different people, she couldn't help but wish she wouldn't have to leave again. It had only been a short time since she came to Japan as well.

Tamaki-senpai was extremely hyper. She could barely stand him, but somehow, his infectious happiness rubbed off on her at times, making her want to get up and dance like no one was watching, if only to get rid of the urge to do something crazily stupid. She found herself thinking of doing stupid yet somehow fun sounding things more often than not. Even this trip to America was one of those, especially where she'd extended an invitation to the pampered members (and Haruhi) of the Host Club. Things would definitely get interesting.

Haruhi-kun was a calm and steady presence with just a touch of sarcasm. Sarcasm Aiden knew well. She'd used it many times to get rid of people she couldn't stand or to offset those that tried to become too close of friends with her. Having that technique turned on her made her wonder what had happened to Haruhi to make her so snide at such a young age. Aiden new her reason, but Haruhi's? Maybe it was just how the girl was. Also, Haruhi made for a wonderful break from people that knew nothing but wealth. Granted, Aiden had never gone hungry, but her parents had insisted that she and her brothers and sister live like they had when they were younger. You worked to get what you wanted. Haruhi seemed to have that frame of mind as well. She worked hard.

Hikaru-kun was a spoiled brat, plain and simple. He was mischievous and hated not having things his way. If someone made him angry, he'd become arrogant and talk down to the person until the person felt inferior or he angered them sufficiently to make them want to leave his presence as fast as possible. He cared for no one but himself and his brother. There was affection for Haruhi too, but he probably wasn't entirely sure of what to make of those feelings himself. He'd have to grow up before he could move anywhere with them or do anything about it. Still, that devilish side of his often made her smile, as long as the joke wasn't on her. Maybe she'd get in on the next plot he and his brother hatched.

Kaoru-kun acted like his brother often, but didn't seem as spoiled. He cared about his brother a great deal and put Hikaru's happiness before his own. He watched out for Hikaru in a way Aiden hadn't seen anyone do, even for their own family. She had brothers, but all they did was fight with each other. They hadn't even spoken when the family had moved to Japan, leaving her oldest brother in America. She liked Kaoru's steady mind and caring heart in that aspect. She was sure that, if she were to take more time to talk to him, she'd found out more about him.

Hani-senpai was like the little brother she never had. With only a sister that was two years younger than her and very different, she'd never really felt what it truly meant to be the older sibling. Her sister was flighty but somehow never needed to go to Aiden for anything. Hani took the spot of the sibling that came to her, even if it was just to cheer her up with a slice of cake or to offer a pink (a color she detested but would still humor the senior) stuffed rabbit for her to hold if she seemed sad.

Mori-senpai only made her smile any time she thought about the stoic senior. He was the older brother she never had. Her brothers tormented her and she couldn't remember a time when either of them made an attempt to defend her. If only he could smile a little more, he'd be in better shape with designations than he was at that moment. Still, that quiet protector picture he had made him seem very comfortable with who he was. He was absolutely devoted to Hani and if any of the other club members needed something, he would do his best to help. She couldn't help but remember the night of the hail storm. He'd been so bent on making sure she didn't get hurt, that he let himself take all the pain until he couldn't focus anymore. Such devotion for the safety of others was rarely seen.

Kyouya-senpai was the one she couldn't fit into a neat little box. Dangerous and calculating, yet something seemed like he almost cared about the other members. He made sure Haruhi's debt would never be paid until the last possible moment their senior year, but every time he loaded more money on it, he seemed to do so with a fond smile, as if the girl's presence somehow made things better, not just for him but for the others. She liked the unpredictability of his character. Such a cold smile, yet his eyes (if you could see past the glare he often had on the lenses of his glasses) held a torrent of ideas and emotions that it was impossible to pin it down. He was the mystery and she did love a good challenge.

So why did she invite them to go with her? Normally, she preferred to travel alone. People weren't her favorite things in the world. Had these seven people already worked themselves that deeply into her life?

Glancing at her watch, Aiden grumbled and grabbed her bags, heading out the door to wait for Mori and Hani to arrive. They'd offered to give her a ride to the airport.

* * *

"Hold still," Aiden growled at the bouncing, hyperactive Tamaki as they stood in line at the air terminal. "This isn't that big of a deal." 

"But I've always wanted to go to the Western United States," he whined. "I can't help it."

"If you don't calm down, I'll leave you behind," Aiden snarled.

"Aiden-kun?"

"What?" Aiden snapped, turning her glare onto the hapless one to speak her name.

"Never mind," Haruhi murmured, lifting her hands in defense.

"Is something wrong with Aiden-chan?" Hani asked Mori, the twins and Kyouya quietly. They shrugged in reply.

"Maybe she's just fed up with Tono's actions," Hikaru and Kaoru suggested.

"If I were her, I probably would be too," Kaoru added quietly. "All he's done since we got here is pester her with questions."

They boarded the plane and sat down in First Class, Tamaki sat next to Haruhi, Hikaru had been placed next to Kyouya of all people (he wasn't too happy, knowing that if he started to goof off, the Shadow King would probably turn his malicious intent onto him), Hani and Mori sat behind them and Kaoru sat next to Aiden.

Soon they were taxiing onto the runway. Tamaki started acting like a child again and, despite being next to Kyouya, Hikaru started bothering and trying his best to annoy her. Unfortunately for her, he was succeeding. Hani was talking animatedly with Mori who listened as silent as ever. Kyouya remained quiet his eyes scanning his surroundings critically. Aiden sat, staring straight ahead while she gripped the armrests with a white-knuckled grasp.

"Aiden-kun?" Kaoru asked looking over at the girl. She jumped and looked over at him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she replied and swallowed. When the plane suddenly started climbing into the air, she drew her feet up onto her seat and buried her face into her knees, hugging her shins tightly. She started shaking violently.

"Aiden-kun?" He didn't get a response. "Aiden-kun!" She refused to look at him, shaking her head without opening her eyes.

"Aiden, look at me." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, still refusing to move from her curled up position. "Are you afraid of heights?" She nodded and hid her face again.

Kaoru sat back and cast a questioning glance at the ceiling as he thought. After a moment, he then reached over and gripped the girl's shoulder, catching her attention. "Switch seats with me," he ordered. She gave him a questioning look from her huddled position.

"If you can't see outside, it won't be as bad," he explained with a smile

Nodding, Aiden did as told as soon as they were aloud to get up and move around. When she sat down again, she went back to hugging her legs to her chest. For a while, Kaoru let her remain that way, wondering if she just needed a few moments to pull out of the state she was in. When fifteen minutes passed and she didn't move, he started attempting to get her to calm down by talking to her. Little by little, she was able to regain control of herself until she had her feet back on the floor and pulled out her laptop to play some solitaire to pass the time. Every once in a while, she'd glance up, realize where she was, jump, grip the armrests for a few moments, before she'd go back to what she was doing. Three hours later, she put her laptop away and took a nap for the rest of the flight. Similar things happened on each connecting one.

* * *

"Flights really suck," Aiden grumbled her feet dragging as she trudged through the airport in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

"How much further do we have?" Hikaru and Kaoru whined.

"One more flight in about two hours," Aiden replied with a yawn. "We've got to go a little further north." She flopped down in one of the chairs before pulling out her cell phone. "Wonder if Uncle's working," she muttered and started pushing buttons. Within moments, she had it up to her ear as she waited for someone to answer on the other end. Finally she grinned.

"Is this Darin Walter O'Connell?" she demanded, giving her voice a whining tone and adopting an American accent. "My name is Jane Henderson. I work for the Ogden Police Department. I'm calling to inform you that we have your son in custody. Yes, that's right. We've agreed to let him free if you'll come down to the lobby of the Salt Lake City Airport and visit your favorite niece."

Sounds of outrage and laughter sounded on the other end of the line. Aiden started laughing as well. "Yeah, Uncle Darin," she said after a moment, her tone back to normal and her Irish accent back in place. "It's me and I just got here. You busy? Alright, see you in a minute." She flipped her phone shut and looked up at the group around her. "What?"

"What was that about?" Hikaru demanded.

Aiden grinned. "It's a trick my uncle would play on my brothers, sister, and me when we were really young. Anytime he called, he would make up some absurd story and get us really scared. I thought I'd turn the tides for once."

"Aiden!" A completely bald man with a salt and pepper goatee trotted into the room, his air traffic controller's uniform in disarray from his run.

"Uncle Darin!" Immediately, she switched from Japanese to English and jumped up and ran to him, giving him a hug when she reached him.

"You cut your hair," he commented, ruffling her already messy brown tresses. He looked past her. "Who are these young men?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," Aiden murmured, rubbing the back of her head. "These are some of my friends from Japan. The tall blond is Tamaki Suou, the one in glasses is Kyouya Ootori, the really tall one is Takashi Morinozuka also known as Mori, the really short one next to him is Mitskuni Haninozuka also known as Honey, the twins are Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, and the girl is Haruhi Fujioka. Guys, this is my uncle, Darin O'Connell."

They all bowed and Darin returned the gesture with a kind, "Ohayo." The older gentleman turned back to his niece.

"What are you doing here and where are your parents?"

"I wanted to come back and visit some old friends during my summer break. Mom and Dad said it'd be okay as long as I didn't get into too much trouble and checked in with them every night. They're in Russia right now."

"Russia?" Darin asked. "What are they doing there?"

"Didn't tell me," Aiden replied. "But it doesn't matter. How's everyone doing?" The two started talking about other family members as the Host Club looked on.

"She's very comfortable around him," Kaoru remarked.

"He is her uncle," Tamaki replied.

"Why did Aiden-chan lie to her uncle about not knowing why her parents were in Russia?" Hani asked, looking at the others. He received a few curious looks. "Her hand twitched she said it and she blinked at the same time. They're liar's signs."

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Kyouya replied equally quiet.

"GUYS!" Everyone turned at the yell to glare accusingly at Aiden who'd yelled. "Hungry?" she demanded. Every dirty look turned into slightly pleading faces. "I'll take that as a 'yes.' Lead the way Uncle Darin!"

* * *

"How are we getting to your house?" Tamaki asked with a yawn. Jetlag was catching up to all of them. Haruhi was practically asleep where she stood, swaying slightly. Aiden motioned for someone to grip her shoulders so she wouldn't fall. Mori did so, Hani already asleep on his shoulders. 

"There are two cars waiting for us and one driver. I'll be driving the other so start deciding who rides with who. Please keep it down to four for each car." She trudged through the airport, heading for the front doors.

"You're driving?" Kaoru demanded. "You can barely walk straight."

"I can drive as far as we need to. It's not that far to my house." She waved to an older gentleman waiting by the door. "He's Aaron, the driver."

"Welcome back, Miss Aiden."

"Hi, Aaron, which cars are here? I want to get back and take a long nap."

"The Grand Am and the Tauros. Which would you like to drive?"

"I'll take the Grand Am. Who's with me?" she asked looking over her shoulder at the group behind her.

"We are," Kyouya replied, stepping forward with Mori and Hani.

Hiding another yawn behind her hand, Aiden nodded while motioning for Aaron to lead the way to the vehicles. When the current expression of sleepiness left her, she glanced at the three that would ride with her. "Who's going to stay awake to make sure I don't fall asleep?" she demanded.

"I thought you said you were fit to drive," Kyouya said.

"I am," she retorted irritably. "This is just an extra precaution." After dumping her luggage and that of the others into the trunk, he climbed behind the wheel of a white Pontiac Grand Am as Kyouya sat in the passenger. Mori placed Hani in the seat behind Kyouya and then took the only one remaining, a little surprised to find plenty of leg room. It seemed Aiden was rather short and had to scoot forward to reach the gas and break peddles.

Soon, the white car was following a silver Ford Tauros down the highway. Mori soon joined Hani in the land of the sleeping.

"You should have told one of us you were afraid of heights," Kyouya admonished the girl when he was sure they were the only two awake.

"Why?" she asked, maneuvering easily around a slow moving pickup. "It's not like it's something that can be cured in an instant."

"We could have kept your tickets as aisle seats so you couldn't see out the window on the planes."

"It doesn't matter where I sit," she responded quietly. "If I know I'm on a plane, I'm going to be afraid. I don't have to see to know the ground is far below me."

"You don't have a problem with stairs or the upper stories of the school," he reminded her.

"I can focus on a wall or something when I'm climbing stairs and I go at my own pace. As for the upper stories of the school, well, I don't go near the windows."

He thought back. She was right. She didn't go near windows if she could help it and any time he'd seen her on a staircase, she'd been staring at the banister, a wall, the next step up, her own feet, or someone talking to her.

"Don't worry about it Kyouya-senpai. I can handle it and I haven't frozen in place from fear in four years."

Kyouya let one eyebrow rise in curiosity, wondering why she would freeze. Normally, something as simple as fear seemed as if it wouldn't affect her at all. Then again, from her words, it rarely incapacitated her. Besides, everyone had a fear it seemed, and they would panic to a certain extent. Some were just worse than others. Unwittingly, Kyouya fell asleep as he pondered.

A loud noise jolted him awake. Glancing around quickly, he realized they had stopped in the driveway of a decent sized commoner house. Aiden stood next to him, holding his door open. She'd been the one to shout in his ear.

"So much for keeping awake so I don't fall asleep," she grumbled at him, her tone playful and a mock glare on her face.

Kyouya climbed wearily out of the car and retrieved his bags from the trunk. Looking around, he saw the others doing the same. Aiden went up the steps to the small house and kicked the door open. Once inside, she set her bags down in the first room she came to which seemed to be a living room.

"There are six rooms," she informed the others. "Anybody okay with sharing one or do we have to put people on the couches?"

"We will," Hikaru and Kaoru replied.

"Takashi and I can take the other," Hani said, yawning widely.

"Alright. To the right is one of the bigger rooms," she informed them. "Hikaru, Kaoru, why don't you take it?" They nodded and left, taking their bags with them. "I'll take one of the two rooms up here considering I still have a lot of things in it. There's another room up here. Who wants it?" No one replied for a moment until Kyouya finally sighed inwardly and nodded. "Okay." Aiden led him to the room and placed her own bags into the one kiddy-corner to it. She then led the other four to the basement and showed them to their rooms. Once that was finished, she returned to her own bed and pretty much fell into it, barely taking the time to change into a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt.

* * *

Kyouya was first to wake up later that day, or rather, early the next morning, a little before sunrise. Stumbling out of the small room Aiden had showed him to he searched out a bathroom, finding it directly across the hall, and took a shower. When he finally got out, he felt more awake and took a few minutes to search the house. Soon after he'd started, he heard water start running again. Leaving it to someone else getting up, he continued his exploration. The house was only two stories with three bathrooms, a living room, a great room, a small kitchen, a small dining room, and another large room in the basement, probably meant to be a game room but only had a few comfortable old couches and armchairs in front of a nice television. With nothing else to do, he searched the kitchen for something to eat and found the place completely stocked. He leaned into the fridge to find something to eat. 

"So you're the idiot that woke me up."

He jumped slightly and hit his head on the top of the fridge. Grumbling slightly to himself, he withdrew and glared at the one who had startled him while he rubbed the back of his head. Aiden stood there in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, her hair sticking up in every direction as it slowly dried.

"What are you doing awake?" Kyouya demanded.

"I just said you woke me up," she reminded him. "If you're hungry, give me a second and I'll make something decent unless you know how to cook?"

Kyouya gave her a pointed look.

"Didn't think so," Aiden said as she started pulling stuff out of the fridge. "Omelet okay?" she inquired as she sat some eggs on the counter.

"That'll be fine and I do know how to cook," Kyouya informed her.

"Good," she retorted. "Haruhi-kun and I won't be the only ones cooking."

"Don't you have a staff here to take care of that for you?"

Aiden glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she placed a frying pan on the stove. "It's a small house," she informed him. "We don't have a staff for it. It's pointless when we're rarely here anyway. When we are here, it's not like we're helpless in being able to clean it ourselves."

"What about the driver, Aaron?"

"He's actually the caretaker of the grounds when we're not here. He mows the lawn in summer, keeps the house clean, and does any small maintenance that needs to be done, stuff like that." She poured eggs she'd mixed in a bowl onto the frying pan where they started to sizzle. She quickly chopped a little onion, mushroom, and tomato into it before adding salt and pepper.

"What do you want on yours?" she asked as she cracked another two eggs into the already dirty bowl.

"Doesn't really matter," Kyouya murmured and reached past her, adding two more eggs to the ones she'd been mixing. "Just add more. I'm bigger than you."

"Who's not?" she grumbled.

"Hani-senpai," Kyouya answered, looking down at the girl standing next to him. "Haruhi."

She thought for a moment, shrugged and went back to what she was doing.

Within minutes, Hikaru and Kaoru had shown up, wondering what smelled so good. Sighing, Aiden started making food for them. One of them commandeered the omelet she'd made for herself. Kyouya passed his over to them as well and took out another frying pan, giving Aiden a hand with the cooking as the rest of the club members came upstairs, looking for something to eat.

"I didn't know you knew how to cook, Kyouya-senpai," Haruhi commented.

"I can when the situation calls for it," he replied calmly, slicing mushrooms directly into the pan for Tamaki's omelet.

"Okaasan is full of surprises," Tamaki chimed in coming over to watch the cooking. He smiled tiredly down at Haruhi.

"Can we please stop with the whole family idea for just two weeks?" Aiden demanded. "We're in a very different area. You're going to get a lot of strange looks for your accents alone, let alone all the strange words you use. The game you play isn't exactly common here."

Tamaki looked at Aiden slightly surprised. He opened his mouth to protest.

"That would probably be for the best."

Tamaki turned to look at Kyouya who had spoken, a pout on his face.

"Also, the honorifics at he ends of our names will seem strange as well. We should probably just use our given names here." Kyouya was met with blank stares.

"Guess we're not going that far," Aiden muttered as she flipped a finished omelet onto a plate and handed it to Haruhi. She started another. Glancing to her side, she saw Kyouya next to her, still working on Tamaki's food.

"What do you want on yours?" she asked and added more eggs to the mix, remembering what he said about quantity when it came to him compared to her.

"Surprise me," he replied and gave Tamaki the omelet he'd just finished. "What do you want?"

"Surprise me," Aiden replied, a small smirk on her face as she started tossing ingredients into his.

* * *

Author's Note: Wow, that's the end of this one. Just a reminder, this is the last chapter I'll be taking votes on pairings. Also, I'm still looking for ideas if someone has one. This chapter is actually from one of my wonderful reviewers. (Thanks Roxaschick!) Otherwise, that's about it. Hope you all have a good one and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Have fun! 


	6. Mountain Lake

Vannen: Ugh... I started getting writer's block through part of this but I was able to push through. Sorry, it does get a little boring in the middle. I apologize for that.

**Ladies and gentlemen, we have a problem!!!!** Hopefully that got your attention. So here's the problem. There is a three way tie (by my count) on relationship. Aiden's has been chosen by a landslide vote but Haruhi's is up for grabs by three people. Get your last minute vote in at this chapter otherwise, I will choose who she ends up with.

Now that that's over. Have fun with this chapter and I'll try to get the next part up soon. Here we go!

Disclaimer: Yeah... Don't own.

* * *

Chapter 6

Mountain Lake

"So what's on the schedule today?" Kaoru asked as he followed Aiden out to the cars. The driver Aaron already waited next to the silver Tauros.

"You'll see," she said cheekily and climbed behind the wheel of the Grand Am. Her smirk gave nothing away. Kaoru shrugged and climbed into the back seat next to his brother. Tamaki sat in the front next to Aiden. The other four members of the club rode with Aaron in the other car.

Staring out the window, Kaoru watched the scenery go by. It quickly went from a comfortable suburb to wide open fields where houses were about a mile apart or more. Finally, Aiden pulled onto a dirt road and headed back to a field with a few buildings around the edge. Everyone followed as soon as the other car had stopped.

"What is this place?" Hikaru demanded.

"We're going to plan our two weeks here," Aiden replied and headed towards the wooden fence and climbing onto the top of it. "Or rather, you're going to plan it. This is where we keep all the recreational stuff so you have an idea on some of the activities we can do. Come on."

Shrugging, Hikaru and Kaoru followed her over the fence and jumped down on the other side. The others followed. When they looked back at Aiden, they found her surrounded by three horses, all butting their heads against her affectionately. A fourth came over and reared onto its hind legs behind her, lashing out with its front hooves.

"Tango!" Aiden cried as she caught a glimpse of the horse out of the corner of her eye when she heard a sharp whiny behind her, and jumped to the side at the same time, the other three horses scattered out of the way quickly. The girl rolled out of the way of the horse, heading for the stable to put it at her back.

"Aiden-chan!" Hani exclaimed, worried. Mori started toward her but stopped when he saw her climb to her feet and dash for the building. Instead, he circled around behind the group, aiming for the same point she was.

When Aiden reached the enclosure, she darted to the side, and grabbed the bridle of the light brown horse and hauled on it, keeping the animal on all fours. She patted his nose reassuringly. "Calm down, Buddy," she coaxed, letting her voice drop a few levels. "It's just me. You remember me, right?" she asked and blew gently against his nose. The horse stopped fidgeting and after a moment started sniffing around at her pockets.

"Aiden," Mori murmured, placing a hand on her shoulder worriedly. He'd been right behind her, ready to jump in since she'd reached the building.

"I'm fine," she replied. "Tango here just must not have recognized me with short hair. It didn't help I was downwind of him so he couldn't get my scent." She handed the horse an apple she produced from seemingly nowhere. She kept running her hand across the horse's nose and neck, crooning softly to the gelding until it quieted completely. "He's very territorial," she added. "I'm surprised he's letting you near-"

She gripped the bridle just as the gelding lashed out in an attempt to bite the senior's arm. "Never mind," she sighed heavily and gave the bridle an extra tug in warning. She glanced around and saw the other horses had gathered around her again. "Come on over guys," she called, careful not to spook the animals. "If you're going to ride them, you're going to have to meet them."

With practiced ease, the young men gathered around, walking slowly and keeping their voices down as they spoke, acquainting themselves with the horses. Only Haruhi stayed back, seemingly unsure of what to do. Hikaru noticed and went over to her, explaining something to her quietly. He gave her a small push towards one of the darker colored horses. Hesitantly, the girl approached it and gently patted its nose. It twitched slightly before settling down and allowing the girl to pet it.

"Alright, this is Tango," Aiden introduced, still holding the bridle of the horse that had reared at her and tried to bite Mori. "That one's Socks," she explained pointing at the other light brown horse that Hani and Tamaki were petting and crooning to. "He's Star," she continued, motioning at the dark brown, almost black horse with the tan socks and white mark on the forehead. "And lastly, that's Sundance," she finished pointing at the other dark horse with the light tan markings.

"We really get to ride them?" Hani asked excited.

"We'll be riding them on a camping trip if you guys want to," she replied and disentangled her hand from the bridle. "Go ahead and take a look around the grounds and in the barns and sheds. You'll find all sorts of things to do. You lot are going to decide what all you want to do for these two weeks. I'll meet you back here. I'm going to take care of these guys." She patted Tango's withers. "Keep in mind we have mountains, rivers, lakes, deserts, pretty much everything but an ocean and enough snow to ski, snowboard, or snow machine, within easy driving distance." Everyone just looked at her. "Get going," she ordered. "We're not going to wait around all day."

They scattered as Aiden went into the stables, the four horses following her obediently although she did have to give Tango's bridle a tug to get him to move.

Kaoru was first to return and he picked up a brush and started helping Aiden. She'd already brushed down Tango and had moved onto Star, working through the tangles in the mare's mane and tale.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Any ideas on what you want to do?"

"Horseback riding should be fun," he replied, running the brush along the horse's side. "I'll pretty much be happy with everything else as long as I don't go hungry."

"That shouldn't happen," Aiden said. She looked over at him. "Where are the others?"

"They're still looking around. I took a quick glance and decided to give you a hand."

Aiden nodded and paused to concentrate on a particularly nasty tangle before she spoke again. "Where'd you learn to ride?"

"Hikaru and I took lessons when we were about eleven. We got bored with them after about a year but still ride once in a while."

"Any other things you do that I should know about?"

Kaoru glanced up, a slightly sly smile on his face. "There are a lot of things I can do that you'll just have to wait and see what they are."

"Is that so?" she demanded, cocking an eyebrow in mock challenge.

"It is."

The girl was about to retort when Hani bounded in, calling her name excitedly. Star shifted nervously under her hands, trying to figure out where the loud noise was coming from. Aiden patted her absently as she listened to the senior talk animatedly about what he'd seen. She missed the subtle glare Kaoru sent at the cake-loving young man. Soon, everyone else had gathered. She continued her work, Kaoru helping her as she listened to them discuss what they'd found and settled on some ideas. She'd answer questions when asked but mostly stayed silent as she and the kinder twin finished working on Star and moved to Sundance.

By the time she'd started combing down Socks, the others had a rough sketch of what they wanted to do.

"Alright," she said. "Let's hear the plan."

She listened, apparently filing what she heard away in her memory for quick review. Once she'd heard everything they'd like to do and when, she spoke. "Tablerock would be great for the day hike, it's a rather long drive, but it's worth it in my opinion," she continued, rattling off two more mountains that they could climb, one on horseback, and the other on ATVs. "We could have those be camping trips. We'll load up the ATVs for one and take one or two mules and the horses for the other. We can stay up for a couple nights each. We'll spend an afternoon paintballing in the woods, and I have a few more ideas for everything else." She put the brushes and combs she'd been using back where they belonged.

"Does everyone know how to ride a horse?" Everyone but Haruhi nodded. "Alright then, we'll start a refresher course after lunch just in case," she said and headed towards the cars. The young men raced ahead of her at the mention of food as she slowed her pace to match the other girl's. "I'll teach you how while they're refreshing their memories on it," she murmured quietly. "You won't be an expert, but you'll at least know the basics of controlling the horse and you'll easily be able to ride behind someone."

"Thanks, Aiden-kun."

"No worries, Haruhi-kun. It's what I'm here for." She climbed into the Grand Am where Tamaki and the twins were waiting for her.

After a lunch of sandwiches, the group changed from shorts into long pants and, those that had them, put on riding boots. Aiden and Aaron brought them back over to the family's ranch.

"Thanks Aaron," Aiden told the older man. "I'll call when everything's settled here."

"You're welcome Miss Aiden," he said before climbing back into the car and leaving.

"Alright," Aiden said, looking at the others. "Let's get started. Pick a mount and saddle them. Not Tango. He's rather finicky. I'll be taking him. All of you will saddle one of the other three so I know you can do it properly." She went into the stables with the others following. After giving out equipment, they went back outside. She had Tango saddled before the others had finished brushing their mounts down. She watched with a critical eye as they worked, especially on Haruhi. She'd told the girl to watch one of the others closely and if she had any questions, she was to come to Aiden immediately.

"Tighten the saddle girth Tamaki-senpai," she ordered. "That is, unless you want the saddle to slip to the side and dump you?" Tamaki obeyed her orders and Hikaru and Kyouya did the same, checking the girths for the same reason. When they'd saddled the horses to her satisfaction, they pulled the saddles and bridles off for the person behind them to do the same. Aiden jumped from the fence railing she'd been on and approached them. "Anyone want to give saddling Tango a try? I'll make sure he doesn't bite or kick you."

Everyone glanced around at each other before Mori stepped forward after a small nudge from Hani.

"Good," Aiden said even as she pulled the tack off the horse and placed it on the railings in the fence. "Get to work," she ordered the others. "Kyouya-senpai, a word?" She kept her hand hooked in the bridle Mori slipped over Tango's head so the horse wouldn't be able to rear as easily. The bespectacled youth came over.

"Keep an eye on Haruhi-kun," she requested. "She hasn't ridden before and is a little worried about this. Help her saddle Socks for now and you take the first shift of putting the mare through her paces. We'll go from there."

"Of course, Aiden-san," he replied and went back over to check how Haruhi was doing. He corrected the stirrup length, showing her to use the length of her arm to judge the length it should be.

Aiden looked around and saw the others were doing well. She glanced behind her and saw Mori almost finished saddling Tango. She hadn't noticed before, but the normally silent senior was murmuring very softly to the horse, his hands moving slowly but deftly so as not to spook it. "He knows what he's doing," she thought with a smile. "I've never seen Tango so calm around a stranger."

Once everyone had properly saddled the horses, she led them out to the corral to check how their riding was and assign horses for the trip. Looking at them, she made her decisions quickly. "Hani-senpai, you'll have to ride Socks when you're in control. She's the smallest and will be easiest for you to handle. Haruhi-kun, probably the same. Tamaki-senpai, you and Star have the same playful nature so I'm going to put you on him. Kyouya-senpai, you'll be fine on Star as well. Hikaru-kun and Kaoru-kun, Sundance is just your size and is rather calm, takes everything in stride but that doesn't mean you can go wild on your tricks. Mori-senpai, let's just say it's a good thing Tango likes you and is the biggest. Now, when you're not holding the reigns, I don't care who you ride with. That's entirely up to you. For now, let's see how well you can ride. Half of you mount up, the rest, take a seat on the fence. Haruhi-kun, you're with me for a bit."

Kaoru, Kyouya, Hani, and Mori all mounted the horses for the first time through and Aiden called out instructions, having the men put the horses through their paces and then just a little trick riding to see how much they new. As she did, she explained things to Haruhi on how to ride. With the next round, Aiden climbed onto Tango and rode amongst Hikaru, Haruhi, and Tamaki, making sure they knew what they were doing and helping Haruhi as much as she could. For a beginner, the girl did well. After seeing that they were all competent in their riding, she called the other four over to ride behind those already riding; Kaoru behind his brother, Kyouya behind Tamaki, Hani behind Haruhi, and Mori behind Aiden. They switched off after a while, making sure everyone was comfortable riding.

"Alright guys unsaddle and brush them down and go play with the ATVs. Stay in the field and wear helmets. If I see one of you without one, I'll personally bash your brain in. Tamaki-senpai, please leave Socks. I want to check her over a bit. Haruhi-kun, would you give me a hand?" Aiden jumped from behind Mori as Haruhi jumped from behind Tamaki. "If Tango gives you trouble," she told the senior, "just come get me. I'll set him straight enough."

"Aa," Mori replied and nudged the horse towards the stable. It refused to move for a second until Aiden gave him a pointed look. Meekly, the gelding followed the senior's orders.

"Aiden-kun?" Haruhi asked quietly.

"Don't worry Haruhi-kun," she told the girl quickly. "I'm just going to give you a few more pointers. Mount up." The other girl did so and Aiden climbed up behind her. "Now, let's get started. Don't be afraid of Socks. We always put beginners on her. She's very nice."

Haruhi nodded nervously.

"Now, take the reigns and do what I tell you."

* * *

They watched a movie that night in the basement as a way to wind down after an afternoon of horseback riding and four-wheeling. Haruhi fell asleep shortly after the movie started, still feeling the jetlag the worst. Hani wasn't far behind, clutching Usa-chan tightly. Tamaki had the sense to make it to his bed before he fell asleep, as did the twins. Kyouya, Mori and Aiden shut off the television long before the movie was over, all three extremely tired. Without a word, Kyouya picked Haruhi up and carried her to her room before seeking out his own. Mori, half asleep already, went to pick up Hani but was beat to it by Aiden. She picked up the sleeping senior and carried him to his room, smiling slightly when the loli-shota muttered in his sleep and leaned a little further into her. Once he was taken care of, she went upstairs to take care of the dishes from dinner and the ice cream they'd had after.

She paused slightly as she entered the kitchen. Mori already stood at the sink, calmly scrubbing away at a dirty bowl. She came up next to him and pulled the bowl from his hands. "Get some sleep, Mori-senpai," she ordered. "I can handle the dishes."

"I'll help you," Mori replied with a kind smile. "We'll get it finished faster if I do." He picked up a plate and started scrubbing at it.

"Mori-senpai," she growled.

"Aiden," he retorted mockingly, his tone playful.

She blinked at him. Since when did Mori tease like that? He was usually monotone. "Are you alright?" she demanded, putting the bowl she held down and drying off her hands carefully. She reached up and put the back of her hand to his forehead, standing on her toes to do so.

"I'm perfectly fine," he replied calmly, taking her hand away from his head. "Why do you ask?"

"I've never seen you act this way," she murmured. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Mori-senpai?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I have my hand back please?"

He glanced down at where he still gripped her fingers in a gentle hold. "I'm not so sure I want to," he muttered, his brow furrowing in thought. He looked up at her face, his eyes catching hers. "Bronze," he murmured, his free hand moving up to tilt her face up a little.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're eyes have a bronze color in them. I never noticed."

"Not many people get this close to me," she replied, a slightly bitter tone invading her voice as she forcefully pulled her hand free and went back to washing dishes.

Mori watched her for a moment longer, trying to decide if he was at fault for her sudden change in character. Deciding it'd probably be best to leave her alone, he gently patted her head. "I'm here if you want to talk to someone," he murmured and picked up another dish to help her finish the work.

"Thank you," she replied and remained quiet until the dishes were done. "Goodnight, Mori-senpai." With those last tired words, she went to bed.

* * *

"If we're going to get there at a decent time, we have to move now!" Aiden yelled, shouldering her pack. "Come on Tamaki-senpai, Haruhi-kun can manage on her own. She's not going to be carrying it very far anyway. Put your gear into the back of the pickup Hikaru-kun. We don't have room for it in the cab. It'll go into saddlebags and then in the horse trailer later."

Everyone rushed out to the pickup and threw their gear into the back before piling in, feeling a little squished in the confined quarters. "Everyone ready? Good, let's go!" Aiden said happily as she jumped into the driver's seat and started the large white truck.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Hikaru cried.

"You said it!" Kaoru replied, practically dancing in his seat.

"Three days in the middle of nowhere," Tamaki said, his face covered by a large grin. "This is going to be the best weekend ever!" He caught the two closest people (who happened to be Haruhi and Kyouya) in a hug.

"Calm down guys," Aiden laughed. "We haven't even hitched to the horse trailer yet."

"We're just so excited," Hani exclaimed while bouncing in his own seat between her and Mori. "Right Takashi?"

"Aa."

"What have I gotten myself into?" Kyouya demanded quietly from directly behind Aiden. She chuckled in response.

Haruhi looked up at the bespectacled youth. "Aren't you the least bit excited about this trip?" she asked. "I think it'll be fun." Kyouya looked down at Haruhi, looking across Tamaki in the process.

"We shall see how much you're enjoying yourself after twenty-hours with this rabble," he murmured.

"It's not like I haven't spent the weekend with you lot before," she retorted. "This can't be any worse. In fact, it'll probably be better than other stuff I've done with you lot." She smiled and Kyouya turned forward again, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

Once they reached the ranch, Aiden gave out saddlebags for them to transfer their gear into and she packed her own before moving onto packing the food. As she did, she directed the others on the final bits and pieces they would need for the horses and the two pack mules they were taking with them. After everything was loaded, including the six animals, they piled back into the pickup and headed off towards the surrounding mountains.

It took a few hours but they finally reached their destination. Aiden couldn't help but feel a little exhilaration at finally being back in the mountains. She believed this was where she belonged, with nothing but open space around her. As she started pulling the horses out of the trailer, she kept an eye on the others as they marveled at their surroundings.

"What's going on?" she demanded. "You act as if you've never seen mountains up close and personal before."

"Not in the United States," Tamaki told her as he looked up.

"You've obviously never been to the West.

"These horses aren't going to saddle themselves, you know," she told them as she led a mule out of the trailer. "I'll handle the pack mules, you lot get them saddled." She jerked her head at the four horses tethered to the side of the large horse trailer. "Get going or we'll never get on the trail before nightfall." She went to the trailer and pulled out the packs for the mules and started strapping them on, struggling under the weight of all the food and supplies that wouldn't be on the horses.

"Let me help you."

Aiden glanced up when the weight in her arms suddenly lessened. Kaoru took the pack from her hands, smiling kindly down at her. "Thanks Kaoru-kun!" She turned back to the trailer and grabbed the other loaded pack before leading him over to the mules and showing him how to strap the pack onto it.

"Who's riding with whom?" Tamaki asked as he pulled the saddle girth tight on Star.

"I'll ride Socks," Hani exclaimed as he and Haruhi finished saddling the mount together.

"I'll ride behind someone," Haruhi said quietly, not too sure of her riding abilities.

"You can ride behind me," Hikaru replied quickly, cutting off the imminent exclamations from Tamaki.

Realizing his plan had been thwarted once again by the more devilish twin, Tamaki sank into his corner of despair.

"Mori-senpai, I'm going to have you take Tango. I've got to keep an eye on the mules for the first mile or so." Aiden tied a lead rope from one mule to the other and kept the open lead rope in her hand.

"Aa."

Kyouya tapped Tamaki's shoulder. "Do you want to start, or should I?" he asked, meaning who would control the horse first.

"Why don't you?" the blond asked calmly as he pulled himself out of his current funk and went over to Star.

"Is there a special order you want us in?" Kaoru asked, even as he climbed into the saddle behind Hani. "You'll need to be in the back obviously with the pack mules, but otherwise?"

"Star does well in the front," Aiden told them, "and I'm assuming Kyouya-senpai knows where we're going?"

The young man nodded in reply after swinging onto the horse's back.

"Okay then. Sundance would be best after Star and Socks is a great mediator between Tango and the others so let's go." Aiden walked over to where Mori waited with Tango. She motioned for him to mount up, waited for him to pull his foot out of the stirrup, and mounted up behind him before tying the lead rope to the pack mules onto the saddle. "The trail head's over there," she said pointing. "Lead on Kyouya-senpai." She reached up and gripped Mori's shoulder as they started moving forward even as she gave the rope to the mules a small tug.

"Who's got a good story?" Aiden demanded after a few minutes of riding in silence.

"Story? What do you mean?" Kaoru wondered, glancing over his shoulder.

"A joke, a tragedy, a satire, something! Let's just hear a story."

"Does it have to be true?" Hikaru asked.

"No."

"I've got one."

"Then tell it, Haruhi-kun!" Aiden coaxed.

The girl smirked slightly, hiding her face by staring at Hikaru's back. "There once was a man named Language. He was a very stiff man with a lot of rules and was very formal. Few could stand to have a conversation with him because his language was so verbose that they didn't know what he was saying until he met this girl named Grammar. They fell in love and had children which they named noun, verb, pronoun, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition, and interjection. Unfortunately, Language didn't like children so he killed them and his wife. After, he felt remorse so he created something named after his wife called Grammar and gave each part of it the name of one of his children. However, he still hated children so he decided to remind everyone of this and thus created the subject to be taught in schools as a subject called 'Language' and now forces everyone to learn Grammar and the Parts of Speech named after his children and his wife. The end."

There was silence for a moment before Aiden burst out laughing. "That's hilarious!" she exclaimed, shaking with mirth. She received a few odd looks, as did Hikaru who had started laughing as well.

"Haruhi, that's ridiculous," Kyouya informed the smiling girl with his own smirk firmly in place.

"Yes, well it's still a fun story."

"I'm going to have to remember that one," Aiden finally managed. "I know a few people that will hate me for repeating it. Anyone else have a story?" No one responded. "Fine, I'll tell mine." She did so, telling an absurd story about a wide mouth frog. After this, everyone got in on the story telling, some slower than others, and a certain young man didn't tell any, only smiled on occasion as the others laughed.

"Hey Kyouya-senpai," Aiden called up to the front of the line. "Take the small path off to the left. There's a good place to stop for lunch."

Kyouya did as told, following a thickly wooded game trail.

"Are you sure this is the right trail, Aiden-kun?" Tamaki asked about an hour later.

"Yeah, it's just around the next bend. Just wait."

Sure enough, as they rounded the next curve in the trail, the trees thinned and disappeared on the shores of a small mountain lake with clear green water fed by mountain streams. On the far side, there were cliffs and a waterfall tumbled down fifteen feet into the lake.

"Feel free to go swimming if you don't mind the temperature of snow melt off after you unsaddle and brush down the horses," Aiden said as she jumped from behind Mori. "I'll get some food out for lunch." She went over to the pack mules and pulled the packs off them, preparing to give them a good brushing as well.

Tamaki and the twins needed no second urging as they quickly unsaddled and groomed the horses before digging into the packs on the mules and the small saddle bags on the horses, searching for swim trunks. Soon, Hani and Mori joined them on the urging of the small senior.

"Haruhi-kun, I can handle lunch. Go ahead if you want to," Aiden coaxed. She couldn't help but smirk when Tamaki cried out in alarm when he stepped into the frigidly cold water of the mountain lake.

"I don't think so," Haruhi muttered, looking at the lake shore warily.

"Would you rather go for a walk?" Kyouya asked as he finished brushing down Star. He took a moment to straighten his shirt, brushing loose horsehair off it.

Haruhi shrugged. "Sure."

"Aiden-kun?"

"There's a trail a little to the north, if you reach the fallen oak, you've gone too far," she said absently as she moved to the second mule. "It'll lead you onto the top of the cliffs near the waterfall. It's an easy hike so don't worry and there aren't any side trails, unless deer or moose or something has made one within the last two years which is likely. Here," she handed Kyouya what looked like a walkie-talkie. "These two-ways have a three mile radius. If you find a branch, buzz me and I'll give you directions."

"Thank you Aiden-kun," Kyouya said as he headed off in the direction he'd been told, Haruhi right behind him.

The two walked in silence, following the lake shore until they found the path Aiden had told them about. They turned onto it and found themselves shadowed by the thick trees crowding both sides.

"You have something on your mind, Haruhi," Kyouya commented after a while, glancing over his shoulder at her, his hands in his pockets.

"I just never expected any of you to look the part of a camper," she replied absently, "especially you, Senpai."

He smirked slightly, his dark eyes unreadable. "You'd be surprised," he murmured as he turned forward again and stopped suddenly. Haruhi almost ran into him.

"What-" she started but quieted when Kyouya lifted a hand, wordlessly demanding silence. Slowly, he pulled something out of his pocket. As Haruhi twisted her position so she could see his front as well as what had caught his attention, she saw he held a small digital camera and was training it onto a bird in the trees. He snapped a few pictures before lowering the camera to look at the results.

"Lewis's Woodpecker," he told her, showing her the pictures of the blackish green and pink bird. "It's strange to see them in this much cover. They like the open."

Haruhi giggled quietly, covering her mouth with her fist. Kyouya gave her a look, asking for an explanation for her amusement. "I didn't know Kyouya-senpai would study birds and take pictures of them. It seems like a waste of time and thus a waste of profit," she said, still smiling widely.

Kyouya adjusted the glasses on his nose. "Not just birds," he informed her loftily, "animals, plants, people, landscapes, anything really. Photography is a hobby of mine, if you will."

Haruhi stared. The Shadow King had something as simple as a _hobby_? It made no sense to her.

"I've made quite a profit off some of the photographs."

Ah, that was it. He sold his work, go figure.

They continued on their way conversing quietly, Kyouya stopping them on occasion to take more pictures. They reached more than one side path and had to call Aiden on the two-way radio. She seemed to have the entire layout of the land perfectly memorized for not having been up there for at least two years. Still, her directions were accurate and the two soon found them at the top of the waterfall, looking down on the lake where the others were enjoying themselves in the freezing water.

"Haru-chan!"

The girl looked over the edge of the cliff to see Hani sitting on Mori's shoulders as the larger senior treaded water. She smiled and waved down to them, failing to notice that Kyouya was training his camera on her. When the flash went off, she turned towards him, only to find that the camera was pointed in the entirely opposite direction at some distant mountains. Shrugging, she went back to looking down at the others. Tamaki was near the waterfall, on his back and staring at the sky, probably daydreaming by the vacant expression on his face. Mori and Hani were close by as well. A shock of red caught her attention over near where they'd left the horses. She cringed, realizing what was going to happen next.

* * *

Aiden tugged the last of what she'd need out of the saddle bags and set it on the clean tarp she'd laid on the ground. She was about to start making sandwiches when something snagged her around the waist, lifted her up, and carried her quickly and rather jarringly until she was finally thrown into the frigid lake. Gasping and spluttering, she resurfaced.

"What the heck was that for?!" she demanded irately, wiping water out of her eyes and trying to control her sudden shivering at the same time. "I'm fully clothed and I only have one other pair of shoes with me!"

"All work and no play makes Aiden-kun a dull girl," Hikaru and Kaoru sang, smirking widely.

"Fine," she snarled in response. "No food for you."

"Ah, come on Aiden-kun," Hikaru whined. "Just play with us for a little while."

"You're always so serious," Kaoru added, coming up behind her and slinging an arm around her shoulders. "You should lighten up a bit."

"Lunch had to be made," she informed them.

"Not right at this moment," Hikaru reminded her. "It can wait for a while. Have some fun with us."

Aiden was about to protest again when Hikaru bent into the waist deep water right in front of her, reaching down and grabbing her ankles. In the meantime, Kaoru gripped her arms at the wrists and pulled them above her head. In less than a second, Aiden found herself being held horizontally in mid air by the twins, just above the water. They started swinging her back and forth.

"No, no, no, no! Don't do this! I swear I won't let you guys eat! Don't! No!" she yelled trying to squirm free. She continued yelling at them as they ignored her.

"One for the money," Hikaru started on one of the back swings.

"Two for the show," his twin added, a devilish grin on his face for the next back swing.

"Three to get ready," Hikaru said joyously.

"And four to, Go!" They let go of Aiden at the front of their swing, throwing her into deeper water as she cried out louder in alarm.

She went under with a magnificent splash, sending spray everywhere. The two redheads laughed uproariously for a few moments before they realized that Aiden hadn't surfaced yet.

"Hikaru?" Kaoru asked a little worried. "Where is she?"

"Ano…"

"DIE!" Weight slammed into both their backs and they toppled forward, face first into the water. When they finally managed to get their heads above water again, they saw Aiden smirking behind them, dripping wet and shivering. She'd snuck up behind them under water and tackled them when they were trying to find her.

"She didn't just-" Kaoru said in surprise, wiping water from his eyes.

"She did," Hikaru replied. "You know what that means." The twins nodded to each other and advanced on Aiden. She backed up in fear. Soon they had her in their grasp again and carted her out into a deeper portion of the lake where she couldn't reach before they dumped her unceremoniously. She spluttered and coughed when she came back up, only to be dunked by a grinning Hikaru. He let her breath after a moment but not for long before Kaoru grabbed her by the shoulders and jumped into the water with her, holding the already soaked Irish girl against his chest. The moment she broke above water, she inhaled to yell at the first people to come into sight that would help.

"Mori-senp-" The rest of her cry cut off as Hikaru pushed her head below the surface again.

Trying not to panic, Aiden pulled at the hand holding her down, trying to dislodge it from her short hair and her head. Suddenly it disappeared and a strong arm grabbed the back of her shirt and hauled her into the air where she coughed, trying to rid her lungs of the freezing lake water.

"Aiden-chan, Aiden-chan are you alright?" Hani looked at her concernedly from where he sat on Mori's shoulders.

"I think so," she replied after a moment. "You can put me down now, Mori-senpai," she told the senior. "I can make it back to shore on my own."

The young man nodded and set her down, making sure she started treading water before fully letting go of her shirt. He also placed himself between the twins and the girl as she swam to shore and went to her saddle bags to get dry clothing and shoes. Tamaki lectured the two, ordering them to be nice to "Obasan." Where had he been when she was being attacked? Probably day dreaming, as usual.

"Lunch is ready!" she called to the group. Seeing Kyouya and Haruhi on the bluff above the lake, she pulled out the two-way she held and told them the same thing. She received a wave and the two disappeared from view a few seconds later.

When the others gathered around her, she smacked the hands of the twins. "No food for you," she snapped. They started whining but she wouldn't budge. In her eyes, this punishment was light for what they did to her. As everyone else ate, they sulked. Finally, Aiden let them have what was left, knowing that if they didn't eat, they wouldn't stop complaining until dinner.

* * *

Vannen: And that's the end of this chapter. I don't think it's as long as the last chapter but I'm trying to keep them around the same length. Hope you all enjoyed it. Uh... Yeah... Like I said before, I need votes on who you all want Haruhi to end up with and I'm still taking ideas on general plot line if you guys want something to happen, whether it be while they're in the States or when they get back to Japan, I don't really care. I'm open for suggestions. Have a good one all and I'll see you later. Oh yeah, please review. I love hearing people like my stuff and giving me pointers. Later all! 


	7. Some Adventure

Vannen: Well, here we are with the next chapter after, umm... okay, almost half a year... Sorry about that. College and writer's block are a pain. Hopefully this will start going smoother. As for any notes, umm... Yeah... Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Yeah, I wish I owned OHSHC but I don't. Have fun!

* * *

Chapter 7

Some Adventure

"I can't believe you two tried to DROWN ME!" Aiden yelled, whacking the twins upside the head later that day as she rode past them on Tango. She'd been able to hold onto her temper for a while, having been to busy getting dry, then getting changed, then getting warm, then getting lunch ready, and finally getting everyone moving again to really have a chance to loose her control over her anger. However, now that they were on the trail again, she no longer had something to focus on until her temper finally got the better of her.

"We wouldn't drown you completely," Hikaru replied flippantly. "Only about half way."

"You could have killed me!" Tango shifted restlessly under her, trying to find what was distressing his rider so much.

"We'd never kill you," Kaoru interjected. "We only wanted to have a little fun and for you to enjoy yourself as well."

Aiden was about to yell at them again, shooting dark glares in their direction, when a hand rested on her shoulder. Kyouya shook his head ever so slightly, telling her to let the matter drop. Still grumbling something about only enjoying herself if the twins would drown themselves under her breath, Aiden turned forward.

Aiden and Kyouya had the lead on Tango for that afternoon, followed by the twins on Sundance (Kaoru holding the reins), Tamaki and Haruhi on Star with the girl in control and the blond helping her along, with Hani and Mori bringing up the rear with the taller senior keeping a close eye on the pack mules that trailed obediently behind them on the lead rein.

The wind started to pick up as they rode, making those with damp hair shiver slightly. Again, Aiden found herself wanting to yell at the twins but thought better of it when she glanced to the southwest. Dark storm clouds were rolling in and would be on them a little before nightfall. Deciding it was best not to worry the others, she kept up a steady pace and didn't mention them. Kyouya, being the observant genius he was, noticed them next and tapped Aiden on the shoulder before discreetly pointing at them.

"I know," she murmured over her shoulder. "We'll make the clearing we'll be camping in before it hits, I believe. It'll be close, but we should make it. I just don't want to put up with more whining from the twins."

"Haruhi is afraid of thunder," he informed her, "or did you not notice the night of the hail storm back at Ouran?"

Aiden thought back. She soon remembered that Haruhi had indeed lost control of her calm for a while. "This could be more difficult than I thought," she replied. "Still, don't inform them about it. This is going to be delicate as it is with it being a thunder storm but we're better off in the clearing than trying to get back down amongst all the trees. I don't want to have to deal with someone being stupid or with someone being injured."

"Of course," Kyouya murmured. "Although I think a different rider with Haruhi will be wise. I'm not sure Tamaki will be able to keep her calm and take control of Star at the same time. He's not very good at multitasking."

"Not many people are," Aiden muttered with a smirk. "Go ahead and switch with him. You're one of the few I know who _can _handle many tasks at the same time and handle them easily. Keep Haruhi-kun in front of you though. I don't want her trying to run for cover in the trees if the storm hits earlier than I think."

Kyouya nodded and dismounted easily. He waited for Tamaki and Haruhi to catch up and spoke briefly with them. Tamaki protested loudly but after a dark glare from the bespectacled youth, he meekly slid from behind Haruhi. Kyouya jumped on in his place as Tamaki caught up to Aiden.

"Kyouya said you wanted something?" he asked when he was settled behind the girl.

"I wanted to run a few ideas past you for the Host Club, see what you think." Aiden lied smoothly, her mind working quickly. For the next two hours, she and the blond Frenchman conversed easily over matters of the club.

In the distance, thunder rumbled. Glancing back, Aiden saw Kyouya talking comfortably with the girl he rode behind, keeping her distracted for the time being. Aiden sighed, thanking her lucky stars that they had someone that could keep the other girl's mind occupied. Hopefully, they'd make the large clearing by the time Haruhi noticed the thunderstorm.

"My hat!" Hikaru jumped from behind his brother and gave chase to the object being blown across the ground by the increasing wind. He caught it and stood upright, looking out as he fixed it to his head. Another peal of thunder sounded, louder this time. Haruhi, who had stopped her conversation with Kyouya to watch Hikaru, jumped and dropped the reins. Luckily, Kyouya had expected this and caught them, his arms now encircling the girl's waist.

"Don't panic," he ordered calmly, looking down at her even as she shrank against him, eyes fixed on the ominous clouds. "We have plenty of time to get to a safe place before the downpour hits."

"Hikaru!" Aiden called while nodding at Kyouya, thanking him for taking control so easily. "Mount up. We need to get moving."

The pace returned back to what it was, Aiden not wanting to rush the horses on the uneven terrain. The clouds loomed ever closer as they started their decent into a valley with no trees in it. Once there, Aiden dismounted and moved out of the way so the young man behind her could as well.

"Kyouya, take care of Haruhi," Tamaki ordered. "Mori-senpai, help Aiden-kun with the horses. Hikaru, Kaoru, Hani-senpai, you're with me on setting the tents up."

"No tents!" Aiden yelled over a sudden gust of wind. It didn't quit and she was forced to continue to speak in a raised voice. "Get everything metal out of here. Keep the tarps, sleeping bags, and a food here. Put everything else far away on a tarp and then cover it with another. Weigh down the edges with large stones." She pulled the saddle from tango and started driving a stake into the ground to tether the horse before going to do the same to Socks.

Within minutes, her commands were obeyed, tarps were laid out and sleeping bags were covered in more tarps. After covering the tack with one final tarp and brushing the horses and mules down, she took a quick glance around to make sure everything was taken care of, wind yanking her short hair around her face and trying to pull the white bandana from her head.

"Aiden-chan! Hurry up before it starts to rain!" A crash of thunder sounded not too far away and the girl did as told, diving under the tarp Mori held up for her.

"Is everyone okay?" Aiden demanded as she pulled her boots off. A chorus of yes's sounded out along with a simple 'no' from Kyouya.

"Haruhi's still shaken," he explained simply.

Looking over as she fixed the bandana to her head again, Aiden found Kyouya sitting between Tamaki and Hikaru with the quivering girl in his lap. Thinking, she pulled one of the two packs she'd ordered be left near them to her and dug out a couple bags of granola bars. "Eat," she ordered the others. "Make sure Haruhi-kun does too. Use her bandana to blindfold her and here," she tossed a small packet to Kyouya, "use these earplugs if you have to. Keep her calm until she falls asleep. Hopefully the storm will pass by morning. It should."

"How are we going to sleep under here?" Hikaru asked. "It seems too small for all of us."

"That's what the other tarps are for. Two of you will be under the small one and three under the two larger ones. I suggest moving before the downpour hits. Since Haruhi-kun doesn't seem about to move, why doesn't Kyouya-senpai and she stay here with one other?"

"I'll stay," Tamaki said quietly, watching the small girl that quivered in his best friend's grasp in concern.

"Good," Aiden said and rolled out from the tarp and grabbing the other large one from under the small boulder someone had set on it. Mori and Hani were right behind her. Hikaru and Kaoru snatched the final one up and rolled them selves into it.

Large raindrops started to fall just as Aiden, Mori, and Hani managed to pull the edges of the tarp down in a way that water wouldn't leak under it and get them wet.

"You handled things pretty well," Hani commented. "You and Tama-chan were right in synch when it came to keeping us all safe and dry."

"It was just common sense," she replied. "Someone else would have done the same thing if I hadn't."

Hani glanced at his cousin, a small, knowing smile on his lips. Aiden was forced to remember that the loli-shota wasn't the elementary school child he resembled but the high school senior he was, and an observant one at that. She wasn't reminded often, but when she was, she always regretted forgetting in the first place.

Deciding she wanted the conversation to end, Aiden pulled the backpack she'd been carrying on her back to her and pulled out a book, a flashlight, and a couple pieces of candy. She laid down onto her chest, popped a root-beer barrel into her mouth, tossed one of the candies each to Mori and Hani, flicked on the flashlight in the growing darkness, and started reading her book.

Time passed, rain continuing to fall on the group hiding under the numerous tarps Aiden had thought to bring due to a few rain-spoiled camping trips in the past. Everyone bundled up into their sleeping bags or bedrolls, depending on their preference as cold started seeping through the waterproof cloth and Aiden soon found herself shivering from it.

"Aiden-chan? Are you alright?"

"I'm just a little cold," she replied absently, turning a page in her book. "I'll be fine, Hani-senpai."

"Trade me spots," Hani coaxed with a smile. "Takashi and I can help keep you warm if you're between us."

"Hani-senpai-"

"I'm too warm between you two anyway." The young man started moving, brooking no argument from the girl. Slightly grumpy, she maneuvered herself until she was lying between the two seniors. Indeed, she did become warmer from the combined body heat of the two.

When her flashlight started to flicker, she sighed, closed her book, and placed it back in her bag before shutting off her light and packing it away as well.

A small whimper from her right caught her attention as the light went off. She reached over and patted Hani's head silently. She felt Mori shift slightly on her left and his arm reached across her so he could do the same to his cousin. His hand rested over hers before she could move it out of the way. He didn't react, just ruffled his cousin's hair through her fingers.

"Everything's okay, Mitskuni," he murmured quietly, pulling his hand back, somehow entwining his fingers with Aiden's as he did so. "Just get some sleep."

Hani made a small sound of affirmation before curling up into a small ball and turning towards Aiden. The girl however was looking over at Mori, wondering why he gripped her hand and left his arm draped across her lower ribcage. He just smiled in response and patted her head with his free hand. Aiden smiled back and fell asleep.

* * *

Haruhi woke sometime later, trying to remember where she was. Finally, she decided she was too groggy to get up and thus, snuggled into her warm pillow a little further. She inhaled deeply, preparing to ignore the sunlight and fall back asleep.

"My pillow smells different," she realized, "and it's moving a little… Oh well. Stranger stuff has happened to me." She wrapped her arms around it, pressing her nose into it.

* * *

She awoke again a few hours later, this time coherent enough to take in her surroundings. It was brighter now, and tinted blue. She realized a tarp had been laid over the top of her. Then she remembered the thunderstorm from the night before and sighed in relief that it was over.

In the process of her sigh, she took in a small breath and the smell of her pillow. Once again, she realized that it didn't smell like it normally did. She glanced up, only to find herself looking into a pair of tired onyx eyes.

"Haruhi, would you be so kind as to get off my chest so I can get up?" Kyouya inquired coldly. The low-blood pressure demon definitely was NOT a morning person. Quickly, the girl did as requested, scrambling out of her sleeping bag (who put her in there anyway?) and out from under the tarp.

Cold air met her bare arms and feet. Instantly, she went in search of her saddlebags and shoes, finding them next to the tarp she'd been sleeping under. She tugged on a clean pair of socks and her shoes before pulling a sweatshirt from the pack and over her head.

Finally, she took in her surroundings. They'd camped in a small valley between two mountains. Trees lined the edges but, for some reason, none grew on the level ground they'd camped on. Everyone but the twins and Hani sat next to a fire pit, Kyouya having beaten her there.

"Morning," Aiden greeted when Haruhi approached. "There's hot water for cocoa if you want and I'll start breakfast when I'm a little warmer." She yawned, "And when I'm more awake." As she stretched her arms above her head and her feet out in front of her, she stared to tip backwards. Mori caught her around the shoulders with one arm before she fell off the log, giving her a calm smile.

Haruhi nodded and went to the pot over the fire and the mugs and supplies next to it. Within minutes, she had a mug of hot chocolate steaming between her hands and she was back next to the fire, warming her cold feet close to the flames.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Tamaki asked cheerfully, warming his hands.

"We're going to have to make up a little time for having to stop yesterday, but it won't be a big deal. We're close to a few more lakes so you can swim if you want." Aiden said and then looked over at the twins. "Those that don't want to swim are to be left alone. If I'm dumped in again against my will, I will abandon you here and you can find your own way back without anything but the clothes on your backs."

The twins gave a dejected look.

"Also, when we make camp this afternoon, there's a good spot for rock climbing and repelling," she continued.

"Repelling?" Tamaki inquired. "What's that?"

"Walking over a cliff backwards," Haruhi said nonchalantly. "I've heard it's pretty fun."

"Walking off a cliff is _fun_?!"

Aiden rolled her eyes in exasperation at the blonde's outburst. "You'll be strapped to a climbing rope so calm down," she ordered and stood, heading over to the packs. Mori followed her.

"Need help?" he asked quietly, ignoring the curious look Hani gave him.

Aiden glanced up and then went back to digging through the pack. "Umm… Yeah, could you carry these?" She handed him an armful of bags of fresh vegetables. "I'll get the rest."

He did so and the two returned to the group next to the fire.

"What's all that for?" Hikaru asked.

Aiden turned to him. "You think I'm cooking your breakfast?" she demanded. He nodded and she snorted, a smirk covering her lips before jumping onto a log so she was above everyone. "From now on, you'll be helping me cook, or doing all the cooking yourself. Yes, I have duties for all of you so get used to it. This morning, it's rather simple if a bit of a repeat of your first morning in the States. We're having omelets."

"Then where's the frying pan?" Haruhi asked.

"And here's the difference. Everyone get a resealing bag and as many eggs as you want in your omelet. Crack them into the bags, add what you want into them, close the bag, and then shake them until they're well mixed." She stood and went over to where some of the cooking supplies had been placed. One pot stood upright and had filled with rainwater the night before. She came back, struggling slightly to carry it without spilling. Finally, she made it back to the campfire and balanced it on a set of rocks next to it. Dusting off her hands, she spoke again. "When that starts boiling throw the bags in and don't let them touch the sides. Keep track of which one's yours."

"What happens if we let the bag touch the sides?" Hani inquired, looking into the pot that was starting to steam.

"The bag melts, water leaks in, and your food is ruined," Aiden said, accepting the bag Mori handed her and started making her own food, tossing in a handful of mushrooms, onions, and cheese then adding three eggs. She closed the bag and shook it until the yokes broke and combined with the rest of the mix. Looking into the pot on the fire, she waited for it to boil before setting it in, holding the top so it didn't sink to the bottom or float to the sides.

Once everyone had eaten and the supplies were packed away again, the boys started towards the saddles and the mounts.

"Where do you think you're going?" Aiden demanded, giving them a quizzical look.

"Aren't we going to start moving again?" Hikaru asked.

She shook her head and looked to the south west. "We're going spelunking," she stated and pointed to a waterfall.

"You need caves to spelunk," Hikaru said, his tone wondering if she had lost her mind.

Aiden shook her head as she went to one of the saddle bags and pulled out flashlights and two way radios. "There's a series of them behind the falls," she informed them. "Let's go." She led the way along a foot path for about an hour until they broke out next to the stream at the base of the cascading water. She worked her way up the side and ducked behind the waterfall, shielding her head as best she could. The rest followed.

"Here," she said, distributing flashlights and radios. "Try not to shine them straight up and don't talk too loudly. You'll upset the bats." With that, she started up the uneven ground, her flashlight leading her way.

"Take what ever direction you want," she ordered. "There's more than one tunnel but they don't lead too far. Just be careful not to get hurt. If you find something of interest, go ahead and tell us over the two ways and we'll decide if we want to come see. Meet back here in two hours." She ducked into a tight crevice, sliding through sideways.

"Chotto!" Haruhi, Hikaru, Kaoru, Huni, and Tamaki chorused.

"What?" she demanded, poking her head back through. "We're here to have fun. It's very, very hard to get lost. Enjoy yourselves." She disappeared again.

Kyouya flipped on his light and directed it around at the wall around him. Silently, he chose another branch further down and started towards it.

"Kyouya," Tamaki whined, catching up to him. "Where are you going?"

"Spelunking," the shadow king replied easily. "It sounds interesting." He continued towards the tunnel he'd been aiming for, ignoring the confused look on his friend's face.

"I'll go with you," Tamaki said quickly, following his friend.

"Let's go this way Takashi!" Hani and the tallest of the group started in another direction.

Haruhi, wanting some solitude for a few moments that morning, slipped off into a tiny crevice before anyone took notice of her.

"What do you think Kaoru?" Hikaru demanded, a devilish glint in his eyes. "Should we torment everyone?"

The younger twin was staring up at the little furry bodies hanging from the ceiling above them. "I'd rather not disturb them," he said softly, images of the flying rodents coming straight at him filling his head.

Hikaru paled a bit. "You're probably right," he conceded. "Let's go this way." He shined his light deeper into the main tunnel and the two started walking.

* * *

Haruhi squeezed her way through another tiny opening, crouching so as not to hit her head on the extremely low ceiling. Once through, she shone her light around the unfamiliar cave and blinked in surprise before sitting down to admire the room. The light bounced off stones in the walls, casting a soft glow throughout the large, circular chamber. Water dripped somewhere in the distance and her curiosity got the better of her and she followed the sound. She walked carefully, avoiding uneven ground as best she could to save her ankles. She continued looking around her after a few minutes. A cracking sound drew her attention and she stopped, listening carefully. The sound continued and suddenly, the ground dropped from under her.

* * *

Mori stopped and turned back, looking the way he and his cousin had come.

"Takashi?" Hani asked. "Did you hear something?"

"Aa."

"What do you think it was?"

"A scream," he replied. "Where's the radio?"

Hani pulled out the two way and turned it on quickly. "Is everyone okay?" he asked. "Takashi says he thinks he heard someone scream."

"I was just going to ask the same thing," Aiden's voice came back to them. "There are some bats that are in a bit of a panic too."

"We're alright," one of the twins stated.

"So are Tamaki and I," Kyouya replied.

They waited for a moment. "Haruhi?" Tamaki finally asked, slightly panicked. There was no answer. "Haruhi!" he wailed and more bats woke and darted from their perches in alarm.

"Tamaki-senpai, calm down," Aiden ordered. "Everyone meet back where we split."

Soon, the seven stood in the main cave. "Which way did she go?" Aiden demanded. The others shrugged. She sighed. "Great…" She looked up towards the very dimly lit ceiling. "Tamaki-senpai, Kyouya-senpai, which direction did you go?" she asked. They pointed. "Hikaru-kun? Kaoru-kun?" They motioned to another cave. "Hani-senpai, Mori-senpai?" The smaller senior looked at another passage. "We'll have to split up," the girl informed them. "Everyone take another cave and search it all the way back. If you find something that indicates she was there, call the rest of us." She took a deep breath. "We need to be quick about this. Go." She started towards a dark opening resolutely. The others all went in different directions.

* * *

Kyouya carefully maneuvered his way through a small crevice, his eyes scanning the ground for anything indicating that Haruhi had been there. He pushed through the crack and directed his flashlight around the large cavern, a little amazed at the colors bouncing off the rocks back at him. He trained his eyes back on the ground and bent when something red caught his eye. Crouching, he picked up a hair clip.

He pulled out the two way radio and stared at it for a moment. He should call the others, but he didn't want to have to deal with Tamaki if this clip turned out to be nothing. He tucked it back into his pocket before continuing through the cave.

* * *

Head pounding, Haruhi rolled onto her chest with a groan. "That hurt…" she muttered and slowly pushed herself up so she was kneeling and then rolled back so she was sitting. She stared around her for a moment, unable to see. "Where am I?" the girl demanded, thinking back. She remembered the camping trip, Aiden leading them into some caves, allowing them to split up, and then a room in the caves that glittered with many colors. "Must have fallen in there," she realized and felt around, searching for her flashlight and came up empty handed.

An extra painful throb went through her skull. Carefully, she rubbed at it, feeling the large lump on the side of her head. "That's not good," she thought. "How long have I been down here?" She looked up into the pitch black above her. Sighing in defeat, she stayed where she was, knowing wandering could make things worse. Instead, she took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

"Help!" She called out, keeping her voice fairly soft, in fear of what else might be in the cave with her. She continued yelling.

* * *

Kyouya glanced to the side, hearing the soft yell and turned his flashlight. A dark, gaping cavity was in the middle of the floor.

"Haruhi?" he called out.

"Kyouya-senpai?" The girl's voice drifted from that direction.

He sighed in relief. "Hold on, I'm coming." He went over to the hole carefully and shined his light down it. The girl sat on the floor, covered in dirt and grime, rocks all around her, and dried blood smeared down her arm. "Are you alright?" he demanded.

"I think so," she replied. "Just a headache." She used his light to find her flashlight and the two way radio amongst the debris, packing them carefully into the front pocket of her hooded sweatshirt.

"Good, I'm going to get you out." He carefully lay down on the ground, being sure it could hold him. He reached both hands down to the girl. "Can you reach?" he asked. When she gripped his hands he smiled. "Okay, on three, jump. One, two, three!" He pulled with all his strength as the girl jumped. Struggling slightly, he managed to pull her out of the void.

"Thank you," she gasped, sitting next to him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked and stood, helping her stand as well.

"I think so," she replied. "Nothing's broken at-" she stopped as the young man pulled her into a hug, holding her head against his chest. "Kyouya-senpai?" she asked, looking up at him.

He stared at the far wall. "Don't scare us like that," he ordered sternly.

She watched him for a moment. "I'm sorry," she murmured finally, relaxing against him a bit.

After a moment, Kyouya let her go. "This is yours, I believe," he said, handing her the red hairclip. Smiling she took it and fixed it back into place as he pulled out his two way.

"I've found her," he said into it. "She's alright."

Aiden's voice came on first in the sound of a sigh. "Wonderful. Everyone meet back where we started."

Kyouya took Haruhi's hand in his. "You're not getting lost again," he told her in explanation and started back the way they'd come.

"I didn't mean to in the first place," she muttered rebelliously. He smirked but didn't reply.

* * *

After a lot of exclamations of joy and relief and more hugging than was truly necessary (thanks to Tamaki) and Aiden checking the shallow cut on the other girl's arm and the lump on her head, the group left the caves, working back down to the camp.

"Well, that was a fun adventure," Aiden said, trying to lighten the mood as everyone else, except for Haruhi and Kyouya, was either brooding or still looking rather distraught. "Who's up for another?"

"Adventure?!" Tamaki roared. "She could have been killed!"

Aiden rounded on him. "I've been through that particular cave tons of times and the floor never gave out on me. _Nothing_ of that sort has ever happened inside those caves. As far as I know, that's the first incident of there ever being such a problem."

"Guess it's time I went on a diet," Haruhi said, holding back a grin.

The twins howled with laughter. Haruhi had to weigh less than the other girl who stood a few inches over her own height.

"Calmness, Tamaki-senpai," Aiden coaxed with a half smile. "No harm was done and a lesson was learned by us all. Rock climbing this afternoon won't be nearly as dangerous."

"Rock climbing?!" he wailed. "Hanging from a rope isn't _dangerous_?!"

"If you know what you're doing," she replied. "I'll check things three times over to be sure," she promised as they got back to camp, seeing his still alarmed look. She patted Tango and the horse sniffed at her pockets until she produced a lump of sugar. "Saddle them up," she ordered. "Let's get this day going."

* * *

It was later that afternoon when Aiden finally stopped them in front of a rock formation. They were instructed to find their own food. There was plenty of sandwich material left over from the day before, or if they could sucker her into it, they could get Haruhi to cook something for them. Instantly the twins and Tamaki started pestering the girl as the musician hauled a lot of rope, a few harnesses, and a couple helmets out of the saddlebags. She sorted through it all with her as she started around the cliff face, making sure the horses and mules were being taken care of.

Minutes later, two ends of a rope fell from the top of the cliff, smacking Tamaki in the face. Indignantly, he spun and glared up, ready to shout an angry tirade at the person who had the nerve to whack him.

"Step on that rope and you owe me fifty dollars out of your own pocket," Aiden snapped, looking down from the top. "Those things aren't cheap.

"Does anyone else know how to rock climb or rappel?" she asked. Everyone gave her blank looks. "Good. This will be a fabulous learning experience. Finish your lunches and come up here. Would one of you be so kind as to bring me something to eat?"

A flurry of activity came and soon the group was racing around the cliff in the same direction she had come until they found the steep hill that led up the back of it. They gathered around her as she untangled the harnesses.

"Who's first?" she asked. The twins volunteered. "Only one of you for now. We'll set up a second rope later if you want. We'll start with rappel and then do some climbing later." She held a harness up and Kaoru snagged it before his brother could. Before a dispute started, Aiden held up a second one. "Put those on," she ordered, taking a third and stepping into it quickly, tightening it with a few quick motions.

Kaoru donned his first and picked a helmet up off the ground, putting it on his head.

Aiden snickered. "That's backwards," she informed him. Sheepishly, he turned it the right direction and buckled it under his chin.

"Why do we have to wear helmets?" Hikaru asked.

"If you loose your footing you can easily roll to the side and hit your head. I don't want to deal with any concussions." She looked at Kaoru for a moment, taking in his size before attaching the rope to a length of nylon webbing already attached to a pair of trees.

She went over to the twin that watched her curiously. "Hold still," ordered and tugged at the harness around his waist, before tightening it some more. She next checked the straps around his legs, pulling them tighter as well. "When you put these on, it almost needs to feel like your circulation is being cut off, now come here, all of you."

She quickly tied a knot in the rope around a strange piece of metal that had one large hole at one end and a smaller at the other called a figure eight, and clipped it into her harness with a carabiner. "I'll be tying your knots, don't try to do it yourself. We'll start with a normal rappel and if anyone feels brave after that, we might move you to a single rope." She took the rope, showing them how to hold it as they descended, using the hand behind them as the brake and then walked to the edge of the cliff. "The easiest way off," she told them all, "is to just sit down as if you would into a chair. Keep the rope taught or you're going to loose your balance. Make sure your feet aren't going to slip," she positioned hers on the edge of the face, "and then lean back." Soon, she looked like she was about lying down in midair. "Keep your knees bent. Then just walk backwards." She did so, demonstrating.

"Aiden-chan, what are you going to do when you reach that cave?" Hani demanded, seeing a depression in the cliff.

Aiden started jumping away from the wall, her descent quickening until she was right above it.

"How'd you do that?" Kaoru asked, meaning the jumps.

"Just release your brake as you jump. Jump away from the wall a few times before you actually let go though, just to get the confidence. Now, for the cave," she gave a little hop until she was swinging in midair under the rim. She looked up. "Don't tip backwards too much or you'll find yourself in trouble. Just sit like you would in a chair and lower yourself until you reach the ground." She did so and then unclipped the carabiner attaching her to the rope and then undid the knot. She jogged around the back of the cliff and back up to them.

"Alright Kaoru-kun," she said, "Let's get you started." She reached for his harness after tying the rope around the figure eight again.

"Hey, wait-" he tried to protest only to have her snap a carabiner through the loops on the front of his harness and through the figure eight. She pulled the guard up over it.

"Stop squirming," she told him. "You'll be fine." She led him over to the cliff, carefully moving the rope out of his way. After checking his helmet, she gave it a good whack. "Off you go," she said cheerfully, waving at the cliff.

He stared in alarm at the edge and then back at her. "How do you do this again?" he demanded.

Sighing, Aiden led him back to the cliff and instructed him again on how to begin his descent. When he started, he grinned shakily.

"This is kind of cool," he admitted and started walking with greater confidence. He bounced away from the wall a little and then hopped further, letting go of the rope for a moment. Quickly, he gripped it again, stopping his fall, and landed his feet against the wall again.

"Way to go Kaoru!" Hikaru yelled, waving at his brother as he jumped again, this time descending below the edge of the small cave where he swung for a moment before descending the rest of the way down.

"Well done!" Aiden called, waving at him. "Just unclip the eight from your carabiner and then come back up." He did so and she pulled the rope back up to take the piece of aluminum off. "Who's next?" she asked and laughed when almost all the others clambered to go. She strapped Hikaru in and sent him off the edge, watching him for a moment before checking the harness Hani had pulled on and tightening it.

Soon, everyone had rappelled at least twice and were trying just jumping down the entire cliff face when Hikaru came up to her. "Didn't you say we would get to learn to climb today as well?" he asked.

"That takes more set up but I'll show you how after a few more rappel runs."

"OW!"

"Haruhi-kun! What happened?" Aiden went to the edge.

"Lost my footing," the other girl responded, shaking her head.

"Thus why you're wearing helmets. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Good." Aiden waited until Haruhi disconnected herself from the ropes before bringing it up and taking the figure eight off of it. "Shall we try single rope?" she asked, as she started adjusting the equipment to accommodate it.

"What's the difference?" Kaoru asked.

Aiden grinned devilishly. "Single rope is faster." She clipped herself onto the rope and went off the cliff, practically free falling when she jumped away from it. She reached the cave over fifty feet below her before her feet hit the wall again. She jumped again and reached the ground.

The group gaped in amazement, staring down at her, missing the other girl come up the back and be greeted by a concerned Kyouya. Silently, he stopped her and took her helmet from her head. Deftly, he ran his fingers across the lump already there from that morning's spelunking expedition, making sure she hadn't hurt herself any more that day.

"I'm alright," Haruhi insisted with a smile.

Kyouya's eyebrows rose. "Just be careful," he admonished after a few seconds of silence and went over to see what everyone was exclaiming about. Haruhi followed in silence, contemplating the Shadow King's behavior.

* * *

Vannen: Ah, the end of this one, finally. It took me forever to get past the caves... Anyway, as usual, I'm open for suggestions for the next chapter or for later ones. I love reviews as well so please make me happy! Have a good one all! 


	8. Poker Game

Vannen: Well, here we are again after who knows how long and I'm too lazy to look. Sorry everyone. I'm trying to get my feet under me while my life is going insane. Have fun and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Why do we bother with these things again? Oh yeah... copyright. Don't own Ouran High School Host Club or it's characters.

* * *

Chapter 8

Poker Game

After the art of one rope rappelling was explored by the club a few times and Aiden had the chance to make a few more runs herself, she set some roping up for climbing on a different area of the cliff where there weren't any depressions to overcome. She sent Hani up the wall first, showing the others how to belay properly as she also explained some climbing tips, helping Hani find foot- and hand-holds as he climbed. When he came down after coming to a place he couldn't climb passed, Hikaru went up, followed by Kaoru, both reaching a higher area than the senior had.

"Is it possible to get to the top?" Hikaru asked in disbelief while belaying for Haruhi. She'd just gotten stuck as well at the same point Hani had and was carefully being lowered.

"Of course," Aiden replied as she tugged on a pair of climbing shoes. Once Haruhi was down, she took the rope and clipped herself in. She tossed a watch at Kyouya. "Time me," she ordered.

"On belay," she called back.

"Belay on," Mori replied, pulling the rope tight.

"Climbing."

"Climb on."

Aiden started her way up the wall, using her legs more than her arms, moving slowly but surely, making sure of her footing or grip before she moved. When she'd reached the same spot that had stopped Haruhi and Hani, she lunged for the next grip, only one hand holding onto the wall. She caught the next grip and hauled herself up until she could get her foot into a good spot. When she reached the twins' roadblock, she jumped, completely, gripping a single handhold high over her head with both hands. Carefully, she swung her legs to the side and caught one of her feet on the barest bit of ledge. She moved herself until she was in a rather secure spot before shoving her hands into a pouch at the back of waist. They came out covered in chalk. She dusted off the excess and continued until she dragged her body over the top edge of the cliff. She turned and stood triumphantly, hands in the air. She signaled to Mori and then carefully lowered herself until all her weight rested on the rope, allowing the senior to lower her to the ground.

"How long?" she demanded, unclipping herself.

Kyouya looked at the watch. "Twenty-three minutes and forty-eight seconds."

"Not bad," she said. "Two minutes slower than my record but I haven't climbed in about four months." She reached down and hooked Kyouya to the rope. "Your turn," she told him sweetly.

"Give me the chalk," he ordered, holding out a hand and continued speaking. "Why do you rock climb if you're afraid of heights?"

"I don't like being afraid of things," she replied, working the bag off her belt. "I climb and rappel in order to overcome that fear. I like having control of my life, not something else."

Kyouya nodded and accepted the bag, attaching it to his own belt before going to the wall and started climbing after making sure someone was belaying for him. He carefully worked his way up the wall and reached the same point as the twins. Stretching as far as he could, he realized he still wasn't going to reach the next hold. Remembering how Aiden had overcome the spot, he tried to jump, only to find himself dangling by the hand he'd left holding the wall. He carefully pulled himself back and tried jumping again only to receive the same results.

"You're going to have to take both hands and feet from the wall if you want that hold!" Aiden called from the ground.

Sighing, Kyouya did as suggested, his hands somehow finding purchase. Smirking, he looked around for his next foothold. As he did so, his glasses slipped from his nose. He swore.

"Kyouya-senpai?" Haruhi asked from below. "Are you alright?"

He focused on the wall in front of him for a moment. His vision wasn't the worst in the world. It was possible for him to function without the corrective lenses. He just hated not having them. Taking a breath to steady himself, he found a place to put his feet and started climbing again. He wasn't about to let Aiden be the only one to reach the top of the cliff, not after that jump he'd just made.

He worked slowly, working his way to the top, arms growing tired. Finally, he pulled himself to the top and turned. The sound of cheering below drew his attention. He bowed mockingly before starting down again, letting Tamaki lower him jerkily. He reached the ground and pulled the carabiner from his harness before going back to the wall, searching the ground for his glasses. Sun glinting off glass caught his attention. He picked up his glasses. They were shattered. Sighing heavily, he folded the frames and placed them in a pocket.

Haruhi stopped him. "Where are your glasses?" she asked. "Is that what I saw fall from you after you jumped?"

He nodded and moved past her. He sat on a nearby log after removing his harness. He was finished with climbing for the day, he decided. Instead, he pulled out his camera and started taking pictures of the others, thinking they'd make a lot of money if he were to sell them at school in a few weeks.

Aiden, Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru belayed as Mori climbed the wall. His height gave him advantages. He didn't have to jump in order to reach the hold Kyouya had lost his glasses on. Moving to a new vantage point, the young man snapped a picture of the senior when he glanced down to find another foothold. Kyouya smirked in satisfaction at the picture. Money was going to come pouring in from this trip if he continued to take such pictures of the hosts.

Finally, everyone had taken the opportunity to climb the wall, at least part way and they all sat at the base of the cliff.

"Anyone want to climb or rappel anymore?" Aiden asked as she stretched. She was met with a few yes's from some and no's from the others. "Climbing or rappelling?"

"Rappelling."

She led them up the hill, not paying attention who was behind her until she actually got up there. The twins and Mori waited for her. She strapped Hikaru in first, using one rope instead of doubling it over. He practically ran down the wall, as did his brother after him. After that, they stayed at the bottom, removing their harnesses and going to bother Haruhi.

Aiden pulled the rope back up and turned to Mori. "One rope or double?" she asked absentmindedly as she struggled with the rope for a moment, trying to pull the figure eight loose of the rope so she could replace it in the right spot.

"One," he replied, watching her intently. He tugged at the rope she held and it fell free of the climbing gear she was trying to extract.

"Thanks," she mumbled and threw the length of rope over the cliff edge again, barely missing Tamaki who in turn looked up at the disturbance of his and Haruhi's conversation (one-sided of course).

Aiden attached Mori to the rope and looked up at him. "Go ahead," she coaxed, stepping back a bit. He ruffled her hair with a small smile and went to the edge of the cliff. He descended and turned to look up after pulling the 'eight from his harness. He waved for the girl to come down.

Aiden grinned. She hooked herself to the rope in a bit of a different manner and then walked to the cliff edge. Instead of turning her back like she normally would once she reached the precipice, she kept moving forward and walked off the edge, face first.

"Aiden! What are you doing?!" Kaoru called in alarm, looking up at the girl.

"It's called Ausie rappelling!" she called back, walking easily down as if on horizontal ground instead of vertical. "Gives quite the adrenaline rush!" She carefully maneuvered when she reached the depression in the cliff wall until she was able to come down properly.

"Can we try?" The twins chorused.

"Not on your first day rappelling."

"When can we learn?"

Aiden pulled the figure eight off her carabiner and pushed the rope aside. "After you've been rappelling three times a month on average for the space of at least half a year."

"So long?"

"If you want to learn from me, yes. Those were the conditions given to me, and I'm not going back on that."

The twins pouted.

"Come on," Aiden ordered. "We've got a bit of a distance to go before we make camp for the night. Saddle up the horses and I'll get the climbing gear. Mori-senpai, could you give me a hand?"

"Aa."

* * *

When they reached another clearing on the beach of another lake that evening and the horses and mules were taken care of, Aiden pulled out a few supplies and set everyone to making what she called "tinfoil dinners." Basically, they took some meet, vegetables and what spices they wanted in them and were available (mainly salt and pepper), wrapped them in aluminum foil, a few layers of wet newspaper – "To steam them," she explained – and another layer of aluminum foil. After writing their names on them, they tossed them into the embers of the fire Mori had built and then let die down.

As they waited for the food to cook, the group lounged around, taking it easy after a day of physical activity. Aiden disappeared down the lake shore, her backpack hanging off one shoulder.

Haruhi sat on a fallen log near the lake shore, elbows resting on her knees and chin propped on the backs of her interlaced hands. A certain blond watching her immediately went into an inner mind theater.

3 - beep - 2 - beep - 1

"_Haruhi?" Tamaki asked as he sat on the log next to her. He was dressed in black slacks and a deep blue button up dress shirt. The girl was wearing a long pink dress covered in frills. "What are you thinking?"_

_The girl turned big brown eyes to him and blushed slightly. "It's so beautiful Senpai," she breathed, the light of the setting sun reflecting off the water, giving her skin a slight glow. "Haruhi wishes we didn't have to leave."_

_Tamaki cupped her face in his hands. "We don't have to if you do not wish to."_

"_Senpai…"_

Hikaru and Kaoru watched their leader for a moment as he stared off into the distance with a dazed smile on his face. They exchanged a quick glance and shrugged before going to the lake shore and started skipping rocks along the smooth surface, quietly whispering back and forth about their latest scheme.

Hani ran off in the opposite direction that Aiden had taken, enjoying the sun, open air, and the sand under his bare feet. Mori kept a close eye on him, following at a distance.

Kyouya started the evening taking pictures of the other hosts but soon stopped. He sat down near the fire and rubbed at his forehead, feeling a headache coming on from his lack of glasses. Things were going to be more painful than he thought without them, at least, until he got used to his eyes straining.

A hand touched his shoulder and he looked up to come face to face with a bottle of painkillers. He took them and looked up at Haruhi as she took a seat next to him. "Having trouble without your glasses?" she asked, stretching out her arms.

He responded by popping a couple of the pills in his mouth and swallowing them dry. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes again before leaning his elbows on his knees. He resisted the urge to jump when Haruhi touched the top of his head, putting pressure in a few places. His headache diminished almost instantly. He gave her a slightly questioning look.

"My dad taught me this," she replied to his unspoken query. "If you hit some of the pressure points in your head when you have a headache, some of the pain will go away."

"Your father?" Kyouya demanded.

"Every once in a while he comes up with something intelligent."

Kyouya smirked in reply.

A buzzing caught the two's attention. Haruhi found a twoway radio sitting on top of one of the packs. She picked it and listened.

"Is someone watching the food?" Aiden's voice crackled over the speaker.

Haruhi looked over at the coals and tinfoil dinners. "How do we tell when it's done?" she asked.

"You'll smell it," Aiden replied.

"Then they're not done yet."

"Alright, give me a yell when they are."

Haruhi sighed and set the radio aside. She looked up to see Kyouya pulling his camera out again and training it on the lake.

"Is your head feeling better?" she asked.

"Yes." He snapped a picture of the twins as Hikaru threw another rock into the water, watching it skip eleven times before it sank.

"Good." Haruhi crouched next to the fire and extended her hands out to it, letting them absorb the heat.

"Thank you," Kyouya murmured and continued taking pictures, moving away from her.

Haruhi stared after him for a moment then shook her head. "You're welcome," she replied softly and returned her attention to warming her hands in the growing chill of the evening.

"Food's ready!" Haruhi yelled a few minutes later, having started to smell the cooked vegetables and meet. She called Aiden on the twoway radio as well.

"How do we get them out?" the twins asked, looking at the coals surrounding their dinner.

"Good question," Haruhi muttered, wondering what Aiden had in mind. As far as she knew, there hadn't been a shovel or anything similar in the gear that had been packed. When Aiden did show up, they watched her expectantly.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "It'll burn!" She raced over to the fire pit and bent down next to it, examining the first one. "Mori-senpai! Catch!" She grabbed the dinner quickly and chucked it at the tall senior. (A/N: **DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!) **He caught it and bounced it between his hands quickly to keep them from burning as he moved over to one of the logs and set it on top. "Hikaru-kun!" Aiden tossed the next one. He caught it and copied Mori's actions, moving the hot item quickly between his hands so he didn't get burned. The others managed there's pretty well with the exception of Tamaki who caught his and held onto it too long. Haruhi, who was standing right next to him, smacked his hands, making him drop it before it hurt him. When all that remained in the fire was Aiden's, she stared at it for a moment, shrugged, and flicked it out one-handed, tossing it vertically into the air. She caught it one handed and flipped it backwards. She turned just in time to catch it one handed and continue bouncing it between her hands until she was able to set it on a log. She blew on her hands to cool them off.

"Let me see."

She looked up at Mori who held out a hand expectantly. Sighing and rolling her eyes, she held her left hand out, the one that had initially pulled her food from the coals. A red mark showed on the outside of her hand where she'd been in contact with the heat for too long. The senior examined it for a moment and then led her over to the lake where he pushed her hand under the cold water up to her wrist.

"That's cold!" She wailed at him. "What are you doing?"

"Taking the heat out," he replied casually, eyes intent on her hand under the water.

"My hand's going numb!" She retorted, trying to pull it away.

"Good."

"Not good!" She retorted. "I still need that hand!"

"It'll heal faster this way."

"I don't care! Let go!"

He ignored her.

"My hand's starting to hurt, Jerk!"

"You're too loud," he informed her.

"Sadist!" She yelled at him.

He leveled his gaze at her calmly. She glared at him for a moment longer before looking away. "How long do I have to have my hand numb?" she demanded. "It's starting to hurt."

Mori let her go and she yanked her arm out of the water and inspected her injury. The burn was still red, but it hadn't swollen. She sighed in defeat. "Thanks," she said grudgingly. Mori nodded and went over to unwrap his dinner and eat. She did the same.

Hikaru took a bite of his potatoes. "This tastes funny," he muttered, examining a carrot.

Haruhi glanced up at him. "You're camping," she informed him bluntly. "You're food isn't going to taste like it was prepared by a gourmet chef."

Hikaru glanced at her in something akin to annoyance before swiping one of her potatoes. "I bet yours taste better," he muttered and stuck it in his mouth. He chewed carefully and then swallowed. "Never mind," he grumbled.

"Mine's kind of gritty," Tamaki remarked.

"We call that boy scout pepper here in the West," Aiden said absently as she ate.

"Boy scout pepper?" Kaoru asked.

"Dirt," the girl replied. "You probably weren't careful when you were putting it together and probably got some dirt in it. It won't hurt you." She continued eating in silence as she stared at the lake, listening to the gently lapping waves.

Once finished, Aiden threw the tin foil and newspaper into the newly built-up fire before returning to her backpack. She rooted out an MP3 player and changed her riding boots for running shoes. "Be back later," she told the others. "If you get bored, entertain yourselves. One of the saddlebags has about eight decks of cards in it." She took off down the lake shore at an easy jog.

The club members finished their meal in varying degrees of speed. Mori and Hani drifted down the lake shower again and were soon heard sparring against each other. The twins stuck their heads together to plot more, Kyouya dug out a deck of cards and started playing solitaire, Tamaki whined about being bored for a while before settling for taking a walk along the lake and Haruhi managed to stay out of his line of vision when he declared he was going. Once he was gone, she found a deck of cards for herself and sat next to Kyouya for her own game of solitaire.

"There's a leaf in your hair," Kyouya informed her without looking up from his cards.

Haruhi jumped slightly at the sudden sound of his voice and then reached up to check. Sure enough, she found a leaf tangled in her brown tresses. "How long has that been there?" she wondered softly before flicking it away and turning back to her cards.

"For about twenty minutes."

She shrugged in response. After a while, she sighed and gathered her cards up, having lost her game.

"Duel solitaire?" Kyouya asked as he gathered his up as well. Haruhi sent him a questioning glance.

"Never heard of it," she replied.

"It's just like normal solitaire except we play on each other's aces. First one out of cards wins." He shuffled his deck casually, waiting for her answer.

"Sure," she replied and the two sat down on the ground facing each other instead of trying to balance their cards on a log between them. They dealt quickly and started playing, each throwing aces between their games and then building on them, both silent as they concentrated on beating the other.

"Are you doing alright without your glasses, Kyouya-senpai?" Haruhi asked, trying to distract him as she placed a two of diamonds on a three of clubs and then putting an ace of hearts at the top.

"There's a bit of strain on my eyes when I try to look at something over fifteen feet away, but otherwise, no problems," he replied, putting down the two and three of hearts on the ace she'd just laid down. "How is your head?"

"Fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I think the bruising has already gone away," she told him. "Are you enjoying the trip?"

"More than I expected I would. Aiden is very good at making sure there is something to entertain us all."

"Surprising isn't it?" Haruhi quickly shifted the four of hearts, the six of spades, and the two of clubs onto the piles.

"What?" Five of hearts, ace of hearts, three of clubs.

"She seemed to want to remain distant from us at the beginning and now she's invited us to spend summer break with her in another country." Seven of spades, three of clubs.

Kyouya nodded. "She seems to be really at ease here." Eight, nine, ten of spades.

"She did spend most of her life in the United States." She shifted her cards around, opening up options.

"All at intervals of two years or less."

"What are you two doing?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked as they looked over Haruhi's shoulders a few seconds later.

"I win," Kyouya stated as he laid down his last king on the stacks of cards in front of him.

"Darn it," Haruhi grumbled, glaring at the cards in her hand. She hadn't been able to get through her rotating stack, a queen of clubs always blocking the card she needed.

"What's this game?" Hikaru asked as the two went through the cards and sorted the two decks out.

"Duel solitaire," Kyouya replied.

"Only two people can play?" Kaoru whined.

"More can play," Kyouya replied. "The name and a few rules change though."

The twins jumped up enthusiastically and dug out more cards and joined the game now called "Nerts." Tamaki joined them not long after.

Fifteen minutes later, Aiden returned from her jog around the small lake with Mori and Hani next to her. The girl talked animatedly with the small senior sitting on his cousin's shoulders. When they spotted the group sitting next to the campfire, intently trying to put cards down before their neighbor, Aiden shook her head before going to the fire and adding more wood. The sun was going down, making it harder to see. The mountain air started to cool off dramatically.

Deciding to let the others continue their game, she started digging out tents then thought better of it. "Anyone extremely averse to sleeping under the stars?" she asked.

"No." The others called. She shrugged and went to her personal equipment, pulling out a small blue bag filled with cloth and bars. She sat down on the ground and started fitting the bars together and then stretching the cloth over the two long poles she created. Four more bars were placed in the bottom, creating a caught. She spread her bedroll over the top and surveyed her work. It all seemed right. She then went to Haruhi's gear and spread out a small tarp, a foam pad, and the girl's sleeping bag. Soon, the Irish girl had everyone's gear spread out and ready for them. When the game ended shortly after, she nonchalantly called, "Choose your sleeping spot and pull your stuff around. It's first come, first serve on who you sleep near."

Instantly, there was a clamoring over who would sleep next to Haruhi and Aiden, the twins arguing with Tamaki. The girls exchanged an amused look and rolled their eyes simultaneously before going to their gear.

Suddenly, Hikaru attached himself to Haruhi and Kaoru latched to Aiden. "Sleep next to us!" they chorused.

"Fine, twins in the middle," Haruhi groused playfully, knowing she'd never hear the end of it if the Hitachiins had to be away from each other. The four pulled their gear onto a flat surface close to the fire but not too close.

"Leaves an open side," Aiden reminded her quietly as she made sure that the top of her bedroll faced the flames so she could watch them during the night.

"Maybe we should-"

Kyouya interrupted Haruhi by easily setting his gear next to hers giving Tamaki a dark glare. "I would like to get _some_ sleep tonight. Having the twins next to the girls is going to be bad enough, I'm not adding you into the mix," he told the club president coldly.

"Tono got beat!" Hikaru and Kaoru chorused in a sing-song tone.

Aiden sat next to the fire and added her deck of cards to the piles already out there. "Who's up for a game?" she asked. She glanced up as Mori sat next to her, a deck in his hands.

"What are we playing now?" Haruhi asked even as she started sorting through the still mixed cards to separate hers from the others.

"Strip Poker?" Hikaru asked instantly, cutting off from his taunting of the whining Tamaki.

Aiden shrugged, glancing around.

"I will observe," Kyouya said, sitting down on the other side of the fire with a notebook instead of his usual expensive ledger.

Before Tamaki could protest the night's activities, everyone else was seated in a circle and Aiden was dealing out the deck she held. "You playing, Tamaki-Senpai?" she asked casually. With a huff, he sat amongst them, casting sideways glances at Haruhi.

"Name of the game is Five Card Draw," Aiden told the others. "Everyone know the rules?" Nods all around. "Good. Let's begin."

The first round was spent in silence as everyone concentrated. Kyouya watched in amusement, his gaze picking up the subtle motions of the players. He wrote calmly in the notebook, flipping through seven separate pages.

Hikaru lost the first round and kicked off a shoe. Hani lost the second and did the same. Tamaki lost the third and fourth, loosing both shoes. Aiden lost the fifth, flipping her bandana off her head. Kaoru lost the next two rounds and kicked off his shoes as well. Tamaki lost again and lost a sock and he tucked his bare foot close to his body to try to keep it warm.

The game progressed, people loosing articles of clothing. When Haruhi had lost shoes, socks, bandana, watch, and sweatshirt, Kyouya came over and sat next to her, looking at her cards. He pushed her handful together and to the ground, signaling her to fold. She didn't argue. The two became a team for the rest of the game. When Kyouya set his notebook opened his notebook in front of her, Haruhi looked up. She grinned at the contents and started playing with more fervor. Aiden cast a suspicious glance at the two before setting down a pair of fives and a pair of nines. Kaoru took off his shirt, now down to his jeans and shorts, smiling mischievously.

"Are you trying to loose?" Tamaki asked, only in his shirt, jeans and shorts.

Kaoru cast him a Cheshire Cat Smirk, refusing to reply to the accusation as he dealt out the next hand.

"That's the thing," Aiden replied, setting three cards on the ground to be replaced by the dealer, "one can win this game in two ways. You can either win by keeping all your clothes on, or you can win by loosing all your clothes in front of someone you like." She set down three aces. Hikaru stripped off his shirt.

"What? Hasn't Mori-senpai lost yet?" Haruhi demanded quietly to Kyouya, looking at his notebook and then studying those around her.

"Check his page," the young man replied. She did so and saw that it was blank. "He has the best poker face I've ever seen. Aiden's is pretty good as well."

"Fold," Aiden grumbled, tossing her next hand to the ground in the discard pile and leaning back on her hands to examine everyone's various states of undress.

Hikaru and Kaoru were the worst off, both only in their jeans and shorts. Tamaki and Haruhi were next in line of loosing clothing articles. Surprisingly, Hani was one step below her in undress, missing everything but his shorts, jeans, shirt, and one sock. She still had both socks on and one shoe. Mori remained perfectly dressed, not having been the worst loser in any hand. She felt a little annoyed. No one had ever beaten her by that much before. It was time to get serious.

She picked up her next hand and watched the others carefully, especially Mori. She lost the hand but didn't seem phased as she kicked off her remaining shoe. The game continued and she was soon down to her shirt, jeans, and anything she wore underneath them. However, a triumphant smirk graced her lips.

Hikaru swore suddenly and climbed to his feet. His jeans joined the pile of clothing sitting off to the side and he sat back down, shivering in nothing more than his shorts.

Aiden glanced up and, with a snicker, called "Take it off!" at the same time Kaoru did as Haruhi wolf-whistled. Tamaki gave a disapproving glare at the Irish girl and the still trouser-wearing twin and shuffled the cards before dealing them. Soon, Aiden was staring intently out of the corner of her eye at Mori. She ignored the others as the game continued. Kyouya watched Haruhi carefully as she selected cards to return to the pile, shaking his head when she started to tug one out of her hand. She replaced it and tugged out another, glancing at him for conformation. He nodded.

Finally, after another two rounds of others loosing (Kaoru joining his brother in the state of nothing but shorts and Tamaki loosing his shirt finally), she saw what she was waiting for and relaxed in her feverish attempts. When the hand ended, she set her cards down, displaying a full house. The others had wisely folded.

Mori met her smug gaze and set his cards down before taking his shirt off, completely ignoring the fact that he still wore shoes, socks, watch, and belt. He hadn't been wearing a sweatshirt.

"That was a little blatant…" Aiden remarked under her breath while pushing down the outright laughter and sarcastic remarks, instead listening as the twins mocked the tall senior for his obvious disregard for the usual order of stripping, only Hani remaining quiet as he studied his cousin.

"I hate to be the barer of bad news," Haruhi said, "but I'm to the point that I can't really read my cards anymore." She squinted at the ones she held, trying to read them in the darkness.

The others looked up from where they held their cards an inch from their faces as they squinted to read their cards.

"Can we finish this hand?" Kaoru requested eagerly. "I think I have Tono beat."

They did as requested. They showed their cards. "Loose a piece of clothing," Hikaru ordered looking at the resident musician with a wicked grin.

"How on earth did I loose that hand?" Aiden wondered softly as she tugged off her shirt, only to reveal a tank top underneath. She smirked at the disappointed looks on the twins' faces. "Nice try guys, but I hate being cold. I wear many layers when I'm camping." She gathered her discarded clothing, shoved her feet into her shoes and went to her saddlebags, folding her clothes and placing them neatly inside. She found her flashlight and a new set of batteries.

"Going for another walk," she said and took off, tying a sweatshirt around her waist and tucking a notebook and pen under her arm. She took off down the lake shore for the third time that evening.

The others hung around the campfire after replacing enough articles of clothing to keep warm as Mori stoked the fire and Hani crawled into his sleeping bag and fell asleep after brushing his teeth at his cousin's reminder. Hikaru, absorbed in a conversation with Haruhi, didn't notice his brother quietly slip away in the same direction Aiden had gone.

Kaoru wandered the lake shore in the dark, his shoes in his hand in case he got too close to the water's edge in the darkness. It wasn't long until he came across Aiden sitting on a log half submerged in the water, her notebook on her lap and the flashlight in her hand directed at the pages. She held her pen between her teeth. Silently, he snuck up behind her.

"If you plan on pushing me in the lake, know that I'll drag you with me and you won't get breakfast in the morning."

Kaoru jumped when she spoke. Her eyes didn't even move from the page as she wrote something down and closed it, shoving the pen through the spiral binding and then tucking the tablet between her sweatshirt and back. She turned to look at him, feet dangling off the thick felled tree above the water as he came and sat next to her.

"I wasn't going to push you in," he said, sounding slightly hurt. "I just wanted to see what you were doing."

"Writing my brother," she replied. "I just finished."

"What? No poetry?" he demanded playfully.

She snorted in amusement. "Not in your life," she grumbled. "I'm hopeless when it comes to poetry." She turned off the flashlight and then leaned back. It took a moment for Kaoru's eyes to adjust. When they did, he noticed her staring up at the stars. He copied her.

"Make a wish," she ordered as a shooting star left its trail across the dark expanse.

"Hmm…" He paused, wondering if he should speak aloud. "I wish…" He trailed off. "I can't think of anything," he lied. "What do you wish for?"

"Freedom," she murmured, "and a new piano."

Kaoru grinned at her second comment and filed her first away for further thought later then realized something else. "Do you know which twin I am?" he asked, wondering if he should tell her or if she was extremely insightful like Haruhi.

"Kaoru," she replied easily. He blinked in slight surprise.

"How did…?"

"I know? You're voice is slightly higher than Hikaru's. I have to hear you talk before I know which is which. I can't tell just by looking at you, no. At least, not yet. Sorry."

He stayed silent for a moment. "At least you can tell us apart somehow."

She smirked. "I'll try to figure out how to tell you apart on sight, but I can't make guarantees."

"You'll figure it out sooner or later," he said.

She was about to reply when a flashlight shined towards them. "Kaoru!"

"Down here Hikaru!" He cast a slightly sad look at the girl next to him but stood from where he sat to go meet his brother. Aiden followed him silently and passed him when he stopped to talk to Hikaru.

Back at camp, Hani and Tamaki were already asleep, Kyouya had his notebook out, Haruhi stood next to the lake, the twins stayed a few yards away talking, and Mori sat next to the fire watching the dwindling flames and coals.

"Too bad Tamaki-senpai and Hani-senpai are already asleep," Aiden said casually. "They're going to miss out on the s'moars."

Instantly Hani sat up with bright eyes. "S'maors?" he asked happily.

The girl laughed and pulled out graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. Mori suddenly appeared with a few straight sticks for the roasting of the mallows. A pocket knife appeared in Aiden's hand and she sharpened the tip of the first, fire-hardened it, and passed it to Hani before doing the same to the second.

"Someone call the twins," she ordered and set another stick to the side for someone's use.

"Kao-chan! Hika-chan!" Hani called loudly as he pulled his marshmallow away from the coals to check it. It was a nice golden brown and he squished it between two graham crackers and chocolate. "Come get some food!"

Tamaki's head lifted from his pillow and he looked at them with slightly blurry eyes. "What's going on?"

"S'moars," Haruhi told him and handing a stick to Hikaru when he sat next to her. She passed the marshmallows to him.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked indignantly.

"We figured you'd wake up," Kyouya said before carefully biting into his own finished snack.

"You guys are so mean," Tamaki whined.

"Just grab a stick and eat," Aiden ordered playfully and accepted the chocolate from Mori.

* * *

Vannen: There you have it! Hope you all enjoyed! As always, I'm open for suggestions. Have fun and please review if you feel you have the time. Thanks all!


	9. Old Friend

A/N: Yeah, it's been a while. I apologize for that. Anyway, on with the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 9

Old Friend

Aiden woke early the next morning when the sun hit her exposed head. She shook it, shivering slightly when she sat up in her bedroll and cot, her blankets falling from her shoulders. She dug at the bottom of her bedding and pulled a sweatshirt out from between her feet and pulled it on over her head before rolling off the cot and consequently into the dirt. She grumbled softly before climbing out of her bedroll and pulling on her shoes. She went to start the fire.

"You're up early."

She glanced back and found Haruhi watching her with sleepy eyes.

"Yeah. I'm going to go for a quick ride this morning to check something out. I'll be back later. If the guys wake up, tell them I'll be back soon to make breakfast." She soon had a fire going and she turned to where the horses were picketed and released Socks from his confinement. She tied his lead rope so it formed a harness and mounted him bareback. She then reined him around and headed up a forest trail.

Haruhi shrugged and burrowed deeper into her sleeping bag, not noticing the dark eyes that watched the musician leave or had listened to their conversation.

An hour later, almost everyone was up and wondering what had happened to the musician. No amount of explanation from Haruhi could convince the twins and Tamaki that the girl had just gone for a ride that morning and nothing was wrong. Tamaki, in his usual form, panicked blindly as he tried to get reception on his cell phone so he could send out a call for a search and rescue team.

Sighing after the fifth attempt to assure that Aiden hadn't been kidnapped by a pack of wolves looking to assimilate her into their pack, Haruhi gave up and started searching the saddlebags for something to eat. As she was pulling out a pot to boil water, Aiden returned.

"Morning all!" she greeted as she jumped off Socks and started rubbing him with a handful of dry grass.

"Aiden-kun! Where have you been?" Kaoru demanded, Tamaki and Hikaru right behind him.

She glanced at Haruhi who nodded. "I was abducted by a pack of wolves that tried to assimilate me into their pack," she replied in a deadpan. "I barely managed to escape."

As expected, Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru crowded around her, trying to "console" her.

"Are we quite finished here?" she demanded after a few seconds. "I don't know about you lot, but I'm quite hungry and I'm fixing my specialty for breakfast today."

"What's your specialty?" Hani asked.

"Scones."

"Isn't that something you'd have with tea in the afternoon?" Tamaki asked.

"I refute all boundaries of that which is expected. I say eat breakfast at dinner time, tea for breakfast, and dinner for tea!"

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again," Hikaru said. "You're insane."

"Exactly!" Aiden pulled out a bottle of oil, a bag of uncooked rolls, a cast iron pot, honey, and butter. She set the pot over the fire and dumped the oil inside. When the oil was hot, she pulled out a blob of dough and stretched it out before dropping it carefully in the pot. The oil started bubbling rapidly around it. She quickly put in three or four more rolls to cook. A few seconds later, she pulled out a golden brown scone with a pair of tongs and set it on a plate covered in a paper towel. "Brea!" she told them. "Careful, it's hot."

"Brea?" Kaoru asked.

"Breakfast and Tea combined when written in English," she explained with a cheerful grin and pulled out another two scones as the others started clamoring for food. She added more dough to the oil.

* * *

When they set out that afternoon, Kyoya led the way down the back of the mountain they'd climbed. About a third of the way from the bottom, Aiden suddenly pulled Tango to a stop and slid off his back, joyously saying something about some kind of berry as she dug in the bags strapped to the pack mules. She came out with a bucket and went jogging into the brush.

"What on earth?" Hikaru asked.

"Did she say 'huckleberries?'" Hani asked as he looked down the line to his cousin. "I've never heard of a huckleberry, have you Takashi?"

The senior shook his head and dismounted from Tango as well. He walked over to where Aiden crouched next to a bunch of bushes, happily pulling small reddish-purple berries off of them and tossing them into her bucket.

"Here, try some," she said when he reached her, handing him a small handful of the fruit. He blinked and did as she ordered. After a few moments of chewing, he swallowed and then grabbed a handful of the berries out of her bucket and walked over to Hani and gave it to him.

"YUM!" Hani appeared next to Aiden, helping her pick them. For every berry he picked, he ate three others. "Come on guys!" he called. "They're delicious!"

"Yeah!" Aiden added. "We can make a pie or ice cream or something out of them!"

"You can make ice cream?" Hani asked.

"Yep, and fudge and cake and-"

Hani tackled her with an earsplitting cry of pure joy.

"Mitskuni." Hani looked up at his normally silent cousin. "She's turning blue."

The senior sat up. "Hehe… Sorry Aiden-chan."

"Don't worry about it," she said, accepting the hand Mori stretched out to her so he could pull her up. "Come on everyone! Grab a bucket and give us a hand. We'll have something yummy for dessert tonight!"

Three hours of picking, four one-gallon buckets of huckleberries, and two hours or riding later, the group reached the pickup and horse trailer. They loaded up and Aiden drove them all back to her home. Once there, they unpacked, took showers and relaxed for a little while longer.

* * *

Haruhi, who felt like she'd been falling behind her studies, went out the back door of the house to read a book for her literature class. She found a trampoline set up and decided that would be a perfect place to relax. She rolled up the cuffs of her pant legs and her sleeves as she sat on the steps outside the back door. She was about to head to the trampoline when a figure underneath the apple tree caught her eye. She looked closer to realize Kyouya sat beneath it, back against the trunk, ankles crossed, and a book open in his hands. He hadn't noticed her yet.

"I wonder if he'd like some company…" she thought and decided it wouldn't hurt to see. She walked over to him and waited as he held up a finger, asking for silence as he finished the paragraph he was reading.

"Can I join you?" she asked when he finally looked at her.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "If you feel you must," he replied. She grinned and sat next to him, kicking her shoes off and lying down in the sun next to his shady spot. They fell into a companionable silence as they read their books.

* * *

Aiden stood in the kitchen, tying a black apron around her waist. She looked at all the cupboards, trying to remember where her mother kept the recipe box and if it even had a recipe for huckleberry pie.

"It's got to be here somewhere…" she murmured, turning in circles. It'd been a while since she'd lived here and her mother always put things in different spots in different houses. In the house in Ireland, she knew the recipes were kept in the cupboard to the right of the sink on the third shelf where she had to get a stool to reach them. The house in Cairo's recipes were on top of the fridge. And the one in Japan… well, she hadn't spent much time there having opted to live in the dorms at Ouran instead. It didn't matter though. She was pretty sure they were in the cupboard next to the window.

As she reached up and opened the cupboard, she glanced out the window. There, in the backyard, she saw two people reading under the small apple tree. She smiled and dug out the blue and white recipe box. After flipping through the recipes for a bit, she found the one for huckleberry pie, right next to the one for homemade ice cream. She looked at the buckets of huckleberries around her.

"Can't have pie without ice cream," she thought with a grin. "But first, some music!" She went into the living room, next to an old stereo system. She went to the cabinet below the system and dug through the vinyl records that had belonged to her parents and grandparents. She flipped through them until she found the one she wanted. As she set the disk on the record player on top of the stereo system, the back door opened. Kyouya walked in, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Your sunglasses are on the kitchen counter," Aiden told him, starting the record player and gently lowering the arm until the needle touched the record. Seconds later, the music started.

"Don't sit under the apple tree, with anyone else but me…" A woman's voice sang, accompanied by a large band.

Kyouya gave Aiden a dirty look as she smiled innocently at him. "No comments on the music if you want pie and ice cream," she warned him cheerfully. He shook his head, grabbed his sunglasses and walked out the back door.

Aiden grinned and went to the kitchen to start making piecrust for the pie.

* * *

About an hour later, once Aiden's record had run through and she'd started another one, this one by Frank Sinatra, the girl hefted an enormous bag of rock salt out of the basement. Hani saw her with it when she passed by the entertainment room.

"Aiden-chan?" he asked when she was about halfway up the stairs. "What are you doing?"

"Making ice cream," she replied. "Wanna help?"

He grinned and followed her as she made it the rest of the way up the stairs.

"You should have asked for help with that," Mori admonished, following them.

"It's only about thirty pounds," Aiden replied absently as she set it next to the back door. "Hani-senpai, can you grab the mixing bowl off the counter?" she asked and opened the door before picking up the ice cream mixer and the bag of salt again. Mori took the salt from her and she made a face. "We'll need all the ice in the freezer too," she said and went to grab it all. "Come on." She led the way out back where she set the mixer next to the porch and opened the top of the can. "Hani-senpai, poor the mix into here, would you?" she asked as she set about scooping ice into the area between the outside of the mixer and the can where Hani started putting the mixture. When Hani had the mix in, she put the lid on and ripped open the bag of salt Mori had brought out and started scooping it on top of the layer of ice she'd already placed. She put more ice, then more salt, and so on and so forth until the mixer was full.

"Now what?" Hani asked.

"Plug it in," she said and handed him the chord. He found an outlet near the back steps and soon the ice cream maker was turning away. As the ice settled, Aiden added more. "Now we wait." They walked back inside.

Just then, the phone rang. Aiden turned to stare at it for a moment. "Well that doesn't bode well," she murmured.

"Aiden-chan?" Hani asked.

"Only a few people know this number and the only ones that know anyone is here are my family and the caretaker. If one of them was calling, it would mean there's probably something wrong." She reached for the phone. "Probably just a phone solicitor," she thought and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked in English and waited a second. She gasped. "Kallee? How did you-" she broke off. "You saw-" Again she broke off. "Of course you did. How are things?" She grinned and leaned against the wall, smiling at Hani and Mori, showing them everything was alright. "I see, so this isn't just a social call. What do you need?" A pause. "Oh really, what and when?" Her eyes grew big. "Tomorrow? Yeesh, you don't give a girl much warning, do you?" She waited. "Ah, don't worry about it. Come over and I'll take a look at it." She laughed after another pause. "Yeah, right. You know I can't sing to save my own sorry hide." She grinned. "Yeah, see you in a few minutes." She hung up the phone.

"Aiden-chan?" Hani asked.

"That was a childhood friend of mine," she said. "She noticed I was in town and needs a favor. She'll be over in about three minutes."

True to her words, the doorbell rang almost exactly three minutes later. Aiden answered it and let in a tall young woman with black hair.

"Hey Kallee," Aiden greeted her. "Long time no see."

"Well, if you'd let anyone know when you were in the States you'd see us more often," the girl, Kallee said, her voice a clear soprano.

"Yeah," Aiden said. "I guess you're right."

Kallee looked past Aiden. Aiden glanced back.

"Ah." She turned and waived Tamaki into the room from where he stood in the kitchen. "Kallee, this is Tamaki Suou. He's a friend from Japan. Tamaki," she spoke slower and clearer, "This is Kallee Hill. She and I grew up together. Well, as much as we could while I was around."

Tamaki just stared at the taller girl for a few moments before mumbling a greeting. Aiden smirked and turned back to her friend. "So, where's the music?" She held out a hand.

Kallee dug through a bag on her shoulder and handed it to the girl, explaining the situation with the pianist she'd originally asked to accompany her. "Thank you so much, Aiden," she finally finished. "I've been trying to figure out what to do for days. When I saw you drive by yesterday, I couldn't help but hope you'd agree."

"Don't worry about it," Aiden said while looking over the music. "This doesn't look too hard. Let me run through it." She turned and sat down at the piano, spreading the music on the stand. She dug her reading glasses out of their case and set them on her nose, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the lenses. She started playing. Tamaki stepped around the corner and leaned against the wall, placing a hand over his racing heart.

Hani and Mori looked up and then at each other when they heard the piano. Remembering Aiden had a friend coming over that needed some musical help, they stood and went to the living room to investigate.

Mori stopped in the doorway and leaned on the doorjamb, watching as Aiden concentrated. He vaguely noted the girl with black hair and pale skin watching over the shorter girl's shoulder. After a while, the piece ended and Mori watched as Hani bounded into the room onto Aiden's lap.

"For all that I don't like Mozart this is - Hani-senpai!" she said, surprised when the senior jumped onto her lap while she talked to her friend.

Kallee laughed. "And who's this?" she asked in a voice that clearly stated that she thought Hani was a young boy.

"This is Mitskuni Haninozuka. He's two years older than us."

Kallee gaped for a moment.

"And that's Takashi Morinozuka," Aiden continued, nodding towards the doorway without looking up at the tall senior while she wrote fingering on the sheet music in front of her. "They go by Honey and Mori."

"With names that long, I'm not surprised," Kallee said softly. "It's nice to meet you both," she said louder with a smile.

"Shall we give it a go?" Aiden asked, placing her right foot back on the sustaining pedal and her fingers on the keys. "Hani-senpai," she said, looking at the blonde on her lap. "If you please?" he jumped down and stood next to the piano.

"Can we stay and listen?" he asked in English.

"Sure," Kallee said when Aiden looked at her.

"Yay!" Hani settled onto the couch, Mori next to him.

"Give me the note?"

"You're not going to get it for performance," Aiden reminded her but played the note anyway.

"I know." Kallee hummed the note and nodded to Aiden. They started almost exactly together. When they finished, Kallee asked, "Are you sure you haven't played this before?" she asked.

"To be honest," Aiden said and changed more fingering on her copy of the music, "I've never heard of 'Botti, Botti o bel Masetto.' I'm not a huge Mozart fan. At least when it comes to piano music. I guess I should start looking at his operatic stuff more often. This one is kind of fun."

"Kallee-chan!" Hani bounced over and caught the girl's hand. "You sing so pretty!"

"Chan?" she asked, looking at Aiden for clarification.

"It's an honorific. Usually meant for those that have known each other for a long time or for someone younger than the user, usually for a girl." Aiden looked at Hani. "English," she reminded him.

He ducked his head. "Sorry." He said. "You sing pretty. Don't you think so Takashi?"

"Yes." Mori nodded.

Kallee smiled. "Thank you."

A certain blond peaking around the corner blushed and ducked away again when he saw the girl's smile.

Aiden stretched. "Time to check on the ice cream," she said and stood. "It's huckleberry," she told Kallee who had opened her mouth to ask. "You're welcome to stay if you want. There's tons and pie."

"You spoil me Ai."

"Yes I do. Do you want some or not?"

"Of course I do. I haven't had the chance to go huckleberry picking yet and I don't think I will this year, not with this competition tomorrow."

Aiden grinned. "Too bad. There are tons this year." She turned to Hani and spoke in Japanese. "Would you mind finding Tamaki-senpai? He's probably lurking around somewhere nearby. I think he got a shock when he saw just how unbelievably gorgeous Kallee is."

Hani grinned and bounced off, heading for the hall next to the front door.

"What was that about?" Kallee asked, having caught her name in the conversation.

"Nothing, really. Just asked him to find Tamaki." She led the way into the kitchen. As Kallee got down bowls for the pie and ice cream, Aiden went outback for the ice cream mixer. She noticed Kyouya and Haruhi still sitting under the apple tree, caught in animated conversation and leaning towards each other. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled. They looked up. "Ice cream and pie?" she called. They nodded and stood. Aiden carried the tin of ice cream in after taking the motor off and pulling it out of what remained of the ice and salt.

Finally, everyone was gathered in the dining room. Aiden introduced Kallee to the four who hadn't met her yet and dished out the pie and ice cream to everyone.

"So tell us what Aiden was like when she was little," Hikaru requested with an evil glint.

Kallee looked up. "Huh?"

"What was Aiden like when she was younger?" Hikaru prompted. "What did she do? How did she act?"

"She doesn't have any dirt on me," Aiden told Hikaru. "I kept all the evil stuff to my family."

"She's right," Kallee said. "Ai's always been well-behaved. Except when it comes to piano competitions. She's ruthless then."

"Ruthless?" Mori looked at Aiden, unable to see the girl be described with such a word.

"Yeah, I remember this one time," Kallee looked at the ceiling, remembering. "One of the boys in the area that took lessons from the same teacher as her ticked her off at a group lesson, told her she wouldn't be able to beat him in a piano duel. Said she couldn't play as fast or as musically as he could. Ai took the challenge." She laughed out loud. "For two months, this competition was set up. I swear half of the town showed up because there was all this hype about the next two Mozarts dueling to see who would hold the title. When it came down to it, Ai totally smashed his performance into the ground."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Although he still claims she cheated because she had a violinist accompany her."

"Hey, he never set down any rules other than the piece had to be the fastest we could play and put together at the same time."

"What did you play?" Hani asked.

"'Piano Fantasy' by William Joseph," Aiden said.

"I don't think I've ever heard of it or the composer," Kyouya remarked.

"He's a new age composer. He's been getting really well known of late though," Aiden contemplated. "Especially after his piece 'Heroes' was in the running for the opening ceremony of the Olympics."

"What did the other guy play?" Kaoru asked.

"'Root Beer Rag' by Billy Joel," Kallee said.

"Also a good piece but he couldn't quite get down the second to last page. There's some tricky stuff in there and he couldn't get it anywhere near the speed Billy Joel plays it at." Aiden said with a satisfied smirk.

"Can you play it that fast?" Hani asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Aiden asked. "Have you ever seen Billy Joel play? That man has three extra fingers on each hand, I swear! That man can play!"

"She could if she wanted," Kallee said. "She just hasn't practiced it like she did 'Piano Fantasy'."

"You think I practiced that one," Aiden said. "You should have seen me in Russia when I went up against a college student and played 'Asturias'. That was some intense practicing."

"I haven't heard that one," Kallee said. "Will you play it for me?"

Aiden smacked her forehead into her palm. "What have I gotten into?" she asked the ceiling.

"Please?" Kallee pleaded.

"Onegai?" Hani added for good measure, giving her puppy eyes.

"All right!" Aiden caved quickly before the two could really gang up on her. "I'll play it." Silently, she wondered what else she would be begged into playing and decided not to worry about it. She could play for them, as long as they didn't make a huge deal about it.

"You mean you practice more than you do now?" Kaoru asked.

"When it comes to competitions, yes," Aiden said. "I've been known to only sleep an hour or two a night when I'm really focused like I was with 'Asturias'."

"How often do you have competitions?" Tamaki asked.

"Not often," Aiden said. "I used to participate in them a few times a year. More friendly than the one Kallee told you about but still somewhat intense. Mostly area-wide competitions. Now I only compete when I'm challenged and to earn scholarships."

They talked on for a while longer as everyone ate the treat in front of them. Kallee and Aiden laughed a lot as they remembered and told stories of some of the things that happened in the area to people that they knew. Finally, Aiden stood up from the table and put her bowl in the sink. "Let's run through the Mozart a few more times and then I'll play for you."

Kallee followed Aiden and soon the two were practicing, hashing out areas of the piece that needed improvement and flourishes. When they finally deemed the piece ready, Aiden pulled out another book from her bottomless music bag and set it on the stand. It practically fell open to the proper place without her having to turn the pages. She started the piece, her hand moving quickly but not at a spectacular speed, weaving an intense and slightly mournful tune. Finally, she struck a chord and glanced over her shoulder at the group gathered around her. "Hold on to yer knickers," she said in English and she was off, her fingers flicking the keys so fast, the others could barely keep up with the movements.

"How is she doing that?" Haruhi whispered. "Her fingers keep crossing. I'm amazed she doesn't tie her hands in knots."

"She _is_ considered the next Mozart," Kyouya replied, equally quiet, watching as Aiden's hands flicked up and down the keys, striking high chords and low chords in turn before returning to the center of the piano.

Aiden didn't hear them as she leaned over the piano keys, her left foot tucked under the bench and her right supporting a lot of her weight. She slowed down again, dropping back to the original tone from the beginning of the piece and twisting into a more upbeat tone until she struck a series of high notes and held them for a moment, her body relaxing. She then leaned back over the piano, her hands going off again at the second, intense speed then going faster and faster and her body leaning over farther and farther. Her hands started moving in opposite directions. Her body leaned farther still, sliding closer and closer to the edge of the bench before her hands slammed down onto the final chords and her body jerked into a standing position.

Kallee jumped on Aiden, almost knocking her over. "I had no idea you could play anything faster than 'Piano Fantasy' but you proved me wrong again."

Aiden ducked out of her friend's hold. "Luckily the right hand stays in practically the same place. I don't know if I could play it as fast if it didn't." She sat back on the bench, leaning her hands on the back edge of it. "So what time is this competition and where is it?"

"It's at Abravanel Hall at six-thirty tomorrow."

Aiden's eyes narrowed. "Abravanel?" she asked. "Do you mean to tell me this is a _formal_ affair?"

Kallee grinned sheepishly and Aiden groaned.

"Guess I'm going dress shopping tonight," she grumbled. "You owe me big."

"I'll always owe you for the amount of times you've bailed me out Ai," Kallee said.

Aiden sighed and she went to tuck the book on her music stand back into her bag. She pulled out another piece of sheet music. "Fine, start repaying me by singing 'And so it Goes' for me."

"Do you only have a few of your books here?" Kallee asked. "I'd much rather sing 'Wine Red' by The Hush Sound."

"Most of my stuff is in Japan," Aiden said. "I only brought my Billy Joel and William Joseph books with me to play for fun. Everything else is for auditions."

Kallee sighed. "Fine."

Aiden smiled and set the new music on her stand.

"Only if you sing the alto part of the lullaby."

"Kall, I don't sing."

"Don't lie to me. You used to sing the lullaby all the time."

"Who's going to play the music?"

"I will." Aiden looked over her shoulder to glare at Tamaki. He didn't step back.

"Will you sing it?" Hani asked. "I've never heard you sing."

"There's a good reason for that," Aiden groused. "I don't sing. I play the piano."

"You sing," Kallee said. "You just don't like to in front of people." She turned to the rest of the hosts. "She's really pretty good for not having any formal training."

Aiden glared at the other girl who just grinned at her. Soon, almost everyone was asking her to sing the song. Still, she didn't budge until someone touched her shoulder gently. She turned to look up at Mori.

"Please?" he said. "I'd like to hear it." He removed his hand from her shoulder, his fingers brushing against her back for a moment.

"Fine," she said. "We'll sing the lullaby first though. I'd rather finish off this little concert with Kallee's awesomeness instead of my horridness." She stood from the bench and let Tamaki take her place. She flipped the pages in her book, turning to the right piece and then stood back, next to Kallee.

"Give us the notes Tamaki?" Aiden asked. He complied, hitting a G and B for them on the piano. Aiden hummed it to herself as Tamaki started the intro. After four measures, Aiden and Kallee started singing.

It was obvious Aiden wasn't comfortable singing. She stared at the ceiling or at the music, her voice wavering slightly. Kallee more than made up for her mistakes, her clear soprano ringing above the soft, uncertain alto. When they reached a part in the piece just before a particularly beautiful verse started, Hikaru and Kaoru joined in, their voices balancing the two girls out with their bass and tenor. Aiden glanced at them, her lips twisting up at the corners before she went back to staring at the ceiling. Kallee grinned widely at them both. The four finished the piece to silence from the hosts that no one wanted to break.

"Maybe we should stop there," Kallee finally said softly. No one objected.

"You're singing 'And so it Goes' tomorrow," Aiden warned as she took the music book from the stand.

"I know," Kallee said. "I should get going. I still have to get my mom to hem my dress tonight."

Aiden groaned again. "And I still have to go find one."

Kallee laughed and slung an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders. "Thanks for doing this Ai. It means a lot to me that you would dress up all pretty just to come play one piece at a competition for me."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a saint." Aiden rolled her eyes but threw a lopsided grin at her friend. "I'll see you tomorrow morning. Ten o'clock okay?"

"Sure thing Aiden. If you need any alterations done to whatever dress you find, let me know. Mom doesn't have any orders right now."

Aiden nodded.

"Well, bye everyone," Kallee said. "It was nice meeting you all." She started towards the door with a wave. Tamaki jumped to his feet, not sure what to do.

"It was our pleasure," he finally managed to say, his ears going pink again. Aiden placed a hand over her mouth to keep the enormous grin from being too visible.

"See you tomorrow morning Kallee," she said. The taller girl was soon out the door and walking up the drive way.

"Shouldn't we offer her a ride home?" Tamaki asked.

"You can if you want," Aiden said. "She only lives three houses down the road."

Hikaru and Kaoru snaked arms around Aiden's waist and shoulders. "So," they chorused, "You need to go dress shopping. Want some help?" They grinned devilishly at one another over her head.

Aiden put her head in her hands. "I can't believe I'm saying this but yes."

"Well, what options do we have?" Hikaru asked. "What stores are in the area?"

Aiden looked at him. "Not a lot," she said. "Nothing designer, that's for sure."

The twins stared at her.

"What?" she asked.

"How do you live like this?" Kaoru demanded.

"It makes life simpler this way," she said and grabbed her keys off the hook attached to the kitchen cupboard. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

The next morning, at ten o'clock, Kallee showed up again and she and Aiden went back to work on the piece. For the most part, the boys stayed clear of the two girls, knowing Aiden hadn't gotten much sleep the night before as she had spent most of it practicing the piece for Kallee's competition. Aiden looked like death warmed over. The piece, however, was perfect.

Kallee spent the day with them. At about two in the afternoon, Aiden called everyone together. "We've got to get to Salt Lake by six-thirty. If you want to come to the competition, we leave in ten minutes."

"A four hour drive?" Haruhi asked.

"Yep."

"Do you have a vehicle big enough to transport all of us?" Kyouya asked.

"Kallee's family has a Suburban. We'll be taking that. Who's coming?"

In the end, everyone came but Haruhi had her books with her so she could study as they drove. When they finally reached the concert hall, Aiden and Kallee went backstage to change while the boys went and bought tickets (the best available happened to be in the third row much to their consternation at not getting front row seats) and found their seats.

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Aiden asked as she stood on the wings of the stage while the performer before Kallee sang a piece from _The Marriage of Figaro_.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Kallee said.

"What school are you hoping to get into anyway?"

"Not sure," Kallee said. "Julliard would be nice but it's not the only school out there."

"Too bad Suou-sama isn't here. You'd fit in at Ouran." The performer before them finished and walked off stage.

Kalle took a deep breath and smoothed out her deep blue skirts.

"We play to bring life," Aiden murmured to herself. "There isn't room for nerves." She strode onto the stage behind Kallee, her back straight and head held high.


	10. Competition Nerves

Vannen: Thanks to all my wonderful readers and reviewers. I'm having a blast writing this. I'm no exception to the rule of authors loving praise so feel free to continue clicking the button at the bottom of the page to submit a review. Enjoy all! Here we go!

* * *

Chapter 10

Competition Nerves

Haruhi glanced at her watch and then at the piece of paper in front of her, trying to guess when the competition would be over. She still had homework to do and she wanted to be able to see it without bothering Aiden with a glare from any light she would have to use while the pianist was driving. The girl looked at the next name on the list and paid more attention to the current singer. Kallee was next.

Before Kallee stepped onto the stage an announcer said, "There has been a slight change to the program. Miss Kallee Hill will be accompanied by Miss Aiden Scadden."

The two girls strode onto the stage, heads held high. Kallee smiled at the audience while Aiden went straight to the piano, lifting the lid to the smallest opening without being closed and adjusting the bench to her height and pulling it closer to the piano keys.

"They seem calm," Haruhi murmured, noting their smiles. "I'd be scared to death in front of all these people."

"Sometimes all that one needs to perform in front of others is a good mask," Kyoya said out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes watching the girls. "Look at Hill-san's left thumb." Haruhi did as she was told and noticed the tall girl's thumb tapped her leg, faster than the beat of the song she was to sing.

"Aiden seems fine," she amended her statement.

The music started then. Aiden had perfect control over the tempo. As the hosts watched, however, they noticed the smile seep from her features and she stared intently at her hands. Her eyebrows knit together in a small scowl and her lips tightened into a line.

"Aiden's not as confident as she may look," Kyoya said for Haruhi's ears only. "If she's not absolutely confident in her ability with the piece, she loses her stage presence and in a competition where she was playing alone, that could cost her dearly."

"Good thing Hill-san is the only one being judged then," Haruhi said.

True enough, Kallee's hand had stopped twitching and she now stood with more confidence in her figure, her back straight. She slowly looked at different areas of the audience, inviting them to enjoy the song with the eye contact.

When the piece ended, Kallee bowed to the audience and then to the judges who were seated in the front row. She then stretched a hand out towards Aiden who stood from the bench and gave the slightest of bows, her hands held behind her back. They walked off the stage to the applause from the audience and the judges.

* * *

When the competition ended half an hour later, Kallee and Aiden walked into the foyer where they would meet the heads of schools attending the competition as well as their family and friends that were there to support them.

"Where is everyone?" Kallee asked.

Aiden scanned the crowds. "There," she pointed to the left. Mori's head was visible over almost everyone else's. They wove their way through the crowds towards them.

"Brava! Brava!" Tamaki greeted them enthusiastically, handing Kallee a single white rose. "You sang so wonderfully!"

"Thank you," Kallee said looking at the rose in her hands as a blush raced across her cheeks.

"Well done," Kyoya added.

"You sounded wonderful," Haruhi said, "both of you."

Kallee smiled at the two. Aiden nodded at Kallee. "She does the hard work," she said.

"And it shows."

The group turned to look at the speaker. Aiden's eyes widened for a moment. "Suou-sama?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

Tamaki's father put a hand to his chin in thought. "Well, Tamaki called and told me of the competition, saying that there would probably be someone there that would be worthy of a scholarship at Ouran." He looked at his son fondly. "Of course I had to come see who he was talking about and now I see!" He held a hand out to Kallee and swept the other one wide (Aiden ducked under the gesture before she was decapitated) as if presenting her to a room. "This beautiful young woman would be a fine addition to the halls of our beloved academy."

Aiden smirked at Kallee. "Told you so," she said.

"Yes, Ai, you're always right," Kallee rolled her eyes at the short pianist.

Suou-sama interrupted the two. "So tell me, Miss Hill, would you consider a scholarship at Ouran Academy?"

Kallee thought for a moment, one of her fingers lying along the side of her face. "There's only one problem I can see," she said. "I don't speak, read, or write a lick of Japanese."

Suou-sama blinked at her for a moment before shrugging. "We'll get you a tutor for that. In the mean time, we'll have someone translate for you, Miss Scadden perhaps?" he turned to Aiden, one eyebrow raised in question.

"I can handle that I think," Aiden said.

"Wonderful!" Suou turned to Kallee and started discussing the particulars, trying to convince her that Ouran was the best choice for her to attend in order for her to expand her vocal talents.

* * *

Aiden stepped back from the group that was converging on her taller friend and went to find a slightly more open space away from all of the people crowding in the foyer. Finally, she just walked outside and leaned against the wall next to the doors of the building, taking deep breaths and calming down.

The door next to her opened and Mori stepped out. He caught sight of her and came to stand next to her, leaning against the wall as well.

"Where's Hani-senpai?" Aiden asked.

"Talking to Hill-san," the senior replied, hands in his pockets.

Aiden nodded and went back to staring at the crowded city in front of her.

Mori watched her out of the corner of his eye. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other before picking one foot up and crossing it across the shin of his opposite leg. He scratched the top of his head and stared out at the city as well before glancing at the girl next to him again.

"What's bothering you?" Aiden asked leaning away from the wall. Mori looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "You don't fidget," she pointed out.

He nodded but didn't speak, just looked out at the city again. Aiden shrugged. "If you want to talk, let me know," she said and started to walk back inside.

"Wait."

Aiden stopped and turned to look at him. Mori pulled something from his pocket. Before she could get a look at what he held, his arms went around her neck. She stood frozen as she felt him hook something together around her throat.

"You play beautifully," he said. "I'm glad I have the opportunity to listen to you. I hope I continue to have it." He bent and placed a kiss on her temple before walking past her into the building.

Aiden turned to watch him walk inside. Hani greeted him with a big smile and waived at Aiden. She waived back and turned away from the door again. The girl leaned against the wall and touched the necklace Mori had given her. She picked it up off her chest and looked at it. It was small and made of silver and the design was intricate but the etched image was faded. Aiden couldn't decide what it was exactly other than old and probably something that held a certain meaning to the Morinozuka family. A coat of arms perhaps? Deciding she couldn't very well know what it was or if it really did mean something without asking questions, she went back inside to find her friends again.

"Kallee-chan's coming to Ouran!" Hani told her the moment Aiden reached them. She looked at her friend for confirmation.

"I'll have to make sure it's really okay with my parents but I don't see them saying I can't, not after they hear what an amazing opportunity it is," Kallee confirmed.

Aiden grinned. "Awesome. You'll fly back with us?"

"Of course. I need to be there before school starts to settle into the dorms. Mr. Suou says I'll room next to you."

"Perfect," Aiden said. "Well, are we ready to go or do you want to see if any other schools will give you a great opportunity?"

"Juliard already tried," Kallee admitted. "Mr. Suou made an offer they couldn't beat though."

"Really?" Aiden asked as she led the way outside and towards the Suburban. "What was it?"

"He offered full scholarship including room and board along with travel home on the major holidays."

Aiden whistled.

"He must really want you to come to Ouran," Kaoru said.

"Well of course!" Tamaki said. "Have you ever heard a more angelic voice in all your lives? She's magnificent and deserves everything my father offered her and more!" he continued to expound on Kallee's many talents.

"Someone sounds a little twitter-pated," Aiden muttered out of the corner of her mouth to Hani who sat on his cousin's shoulders. The loli-shota smiled and nodded. Aiden glanced at Mori and quickly looked away, remembering the chaste kiss he'd given her. She touched the necklace at her throat.

"I think a few some ones in our group are a little twitter-pated," the blonde said with a disturbingly smug smile. "Nice necklace, by the way. Is it new?"

Aiden gave the loli-shota a dirty look. At the same time, Mori shifted his shoulders under his cousin, causing him to bounce a little. "Be nice," the larger cousin said. "Don't embarrass her."

Hani giggled and rested his arms on Mori's head before resting his head on top of them. His patented I'm-so-cute-that-no-one-in-the-world-could-ever-be-mad-at-me-ever grin still held a hint of smugness around the edges when he glanced at Aiden.

Haruhi had overheard but didn't draw attention to the fact. Instead, she dropped back to talk to Kyoya. "What is going on amongst those three?" she wondered aloud.

Kyoya looked at her, his dark eyes amused. "You really are a little dense about some things, aren't you?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?"

He shook his head. "Maybe commoners are less subtle about it," he murmured to himself. Louder, he said, "Did you get a look at the necklace Aiden is wearing?"

Haruhi nodded. "Yes, I just thought it was a family heirloom or something. I know she wasn't wearing it when she was driving but she probably put it on while she was changing for the concert."

"Aiden wasn't wearing any jewelry when she was on stage."

"Then where did it come from?"

"It's been worn away over the years but if you look very closely, you'll see the Morinozuka family crest. Mori-senpai has more or less declared that she is very important to the heir to the family and has thus marked her as one not to be trifled with unless who ever does decide to do so wants to gain the anger of the Morinozuka family as well."

Haruhi frowned. "I still don't really understand. Why would it be embarrassing for her if someone were to point it out?"

Kyoya shook his head. "She probably doesn't know what it is. Unless one is exposed to such information and that particular necklace in advance, it would be very hard to decipher what it is and what it means due to its worn condition. According to Morinozuka tradition, it means Mori-senpai sees her as more than a friend and a possible candidate for marriage."

Haruhi blinked up at Kyoya before looking at the trio that walked in front of them. Mori walked close to Aiden. He had one hand up to hold onto one of Hani's ankles to help the short boy stay balanced while the other hung at his side, occasionally twitching in Aiden's direction. The tall senior kept glancing down at the girl, his expression a little happier than the stoic one he usually wore. As Haruhi watched, Mori reached up and brushed his hand along the back of Aiden's head, his fingers running through her short hair. Aiden looked up at him, her cheeks a little redder than usual but she continued to talk as if nothing had happened.

"Shouldn't Aiden know about the marriage part of that?" Haruhi asked.

Kyoya looked up, the sun glinting off his glasses and hiding his eyes. "Possibly, but there could be reasons why he doesn't want to push such an idea onto her as of yet. Or she may already know."

"Reasons? Like what?"

"Perhaps he's afraid of what she'll say concerning a marriage arranged before she's of age to actually go through with it. Or he may fear her reaction to any kind of arranged marriage, not knowing how she views such traditions. Perchance he's afraid she will not return his feelings."

Haruhi thought about that as their group reached the Suburban, the twins ahead of everyone else and making fun of Tamaki and his blatant admiration for Kallee. "He'll never know unless he says something to her," Haruhi said.

Kyoya still didn't look at her. "I would imagine he's waiting to see if she shows any attraction towards him over someone else close to them. It would be churlish to confess to a girl he knew had feelings for someone else."

"I would still confess," Haruhi said. "You never know what will happen at any given time. It would be a shame to not say anything and then regret it for the rest of your life." She climbed into the back seat of the suburban.

"Would you?" Kyoya asked quietly. Haruhi didn't hear him.

* * *

The drive home was filled with chatter and planning. Kallee couldn't stop beaming at everyone and asking how to say things in Japanese. Tamaki was just as excited as she was, talking a mile a minute about how he just _knew_ the singer would be enrolled at Ouran. The twins teased Tamaki about his partiality to the girl. In turn, Tamaki berated them for implying such a thing. Aiden tried to ignore them as they argued. Haruhi tried to work on her homework. Kyoya resisted the urge to hogtie and gag the twins and Tamaki. Hani was being kept quiet by the lollipop Aiden had given him and Mori was being as stoic as ever.

About two hours into the trip, almost everyone ran completely out of energy and fell asleep in their seats. Aiden (still driving) turned on some soft piano music. In the back seat, Haruhi worked away at her homework with Kyoya sitting next to her, scribbling in his ledger. At times, Haruhi would ask him a question about her homework. He would reply and she would turn back to her work.

In the driver's seat, Aiden smiled. She could see the two in her rearview mirror. Anytime Haruhi had a question, she would look up and Kyoya would instantly hold up a finger until he finished writing what he was working on before turning his gaze to her face. She would look down at her papers and show him what she was struggling with and he would reach over and write something or point something out on her paper or in her textbook. Haruhi would nod and go back to work. What the natural host didn't realize was that Kyoya watched her for a few moments after. Not waiting for her to make a mistake, he would just watch her with a rather fond expression on his face before he would finally tear his eyes away from her face and back to the depths of his ledger. His instant response to her raised head before each question also showed just how aware of her actions he was.

What Aiden didn't notice was that Mori wasn't asleep either and Haruhi wasn't the only one being watched with a fond expression.

* * *

The next day was declared a day for rest by the entire Host Club. The long trip the night before had tired everyone out along with the fact that they hadn't all recovered from the camping trip. For the most part, everyone lazed around the house except Haruhi and Aiden. The first studied while the latter practiced the piano. Around three in the afternoon, Kallee dropped by to talk to Aiden. The two girls disappeared out the door, going for a walk.

"I wonder what they're talking bout," Kaoru muttered to his twin as he watched the girls walk up the driveway.

Hikaru looked up from the videogame he was playing. "Why do you care so much?"

Kaoru sighed. "I can't help it," he said. "I feel like she needs someone to watch her and I should be that person."

Hikaru snorted. "Don't kid yourself," he said. "You have a crush on her."

Kaoru kicked his feet against the couch a little. "Yeah, I guess," he admitted. "I just can't figure out what she thinks, if anything, of me." He rested his chin on the back of his hand, staring out the window again.

Hikaru watched his brother. Not normally the observant twin, he still noticed when there was something that could potentially hurt his other half. He decided he'd better speak up before he let this go any farther. "She's wearing Mori-senpai's necklace."

There was a long pause as Kaoru turned his head to look at Hikaru. "What?" he finally managed.

"I saw it this morning when she was playing," he said with a nod at the piano. "You know how she gets when she has to play something with a lot of volume. She practically throws her weight into the piano. It fell out of the collar of her shirt and I saw it. Mori-senpai gave her the necklace and she's wearing it."

Kaoru stormed out of the room before Hikaru could try to console his twin. Hikaru went back to his game before realizing just what Kaoru was probably doing. He jumped to his feet and went after his brother.

Mori was in the back yard, meditating in the sunshine when he was interrupted by a very irate Hitachiin Kaoru.

"Why?" Kaoru demanded in place of a greeting. "Why give her that thing?"

Mori stood to his full height and looked down at the angry red head. "The same reason you're upset that I did," he said, knowing exactly what Kaoru was talking about. He'd been expecting this conversation for most of the morning.

"Kaoru, wait!" Hikaru ran up to his twin.

"No!"

"Kaoru!"

"Stay out of this Hikaru!"

For a moment it seemed that Hikaru would start arguing with his brother but stopped when Mori met his eyes and nodded towards the house, indicating he should go back inside.

Hikaru swallowed as he looked at his twin once more. "Don't hurt him," he warned before going inside to watch from a window. Hani, hearing the commotion, joined him.

"Sit," Mori ordered, doing so himself.

Kaoru glared at him, his hands clenching and unclenching into fists. He seemed to debate just hitting the senior to see if that would make him feel better but decided against it. Finally, he sat.

Mori waited for Kaoru to settle before speaking. "Aiden will be the one to make any final choice," he said. "I have yet to tell her what it means and I'm pretty sure she doesn't know. You are welcome to talk to her before I do."

Kaoru growled. "It seems I don't have a choice."

"Talk to her," Mori encouraged. "I'll let you speak to her first. If she accepts you, I'll handle getting it back without embarrassing either of you."

Kaoru, expecting resistance, coughed on the deep breath he'd just taken in preparation to start yelling. When he recovered, he just stared at Mori. "You mean," he trailed off.

"I'll not keep her from being happy. If you are what she wants, so be it." Mori climbed to his feet and walked into the house. He looked at Hikaru. "He'll be fine," he said and went downstairs to change into some clothes more suited to running in than the jeans he was wearing.

* * *

After exhausting the topic of what all Kallee would need for Japan, she and Aiden fell silent, enjoying the sun on their faces. After watching Kallee fidget for five minutes as they walked, Aiden stopped her.

"What's wrong Kallee?" she asked. "You didn't ask me to go for a walk with you just to help you make your list."

Kallee nodded. She took a deep breath. She looked at Aiden before her eyes turned back to the sky. "Am I really going to be able to learn the language?"

Aiden gave Kallee a dirty look. "Spit it out," the shorter girl ordered.

Kallee sighed. "I hate your ability to tell when I lie."

"You're about the only one I can tell with, you're so bad at it. Quit stalling."

"Alright, alright! Yeesh." Kallee shook her head. "I'm just curious really," she said. "What is it about these guys that make you so happy?"

Aiden blinked. "Beg your pardon."

Kallee rolled her eyes and started walking again with Aiden next to her. "Aiden, you're happy for once, not just content to do your thing."

Aiden shrugged. "I have friends for once. Friends like I used to, like when we were five and I didn't have to worry about Da's politics."

"That's not all of it. You didn't act like that when you were living here five months ago and it was just us."

"I don't know Kall," Aiden admitted. "It's hard _not_ to like them. They're insane but in a fun kind of way."

"I don't follow," Kallee said.

"The only way to really know what I mean is to get to know them."

"Tell me about them," Kallee asked. "What is life like in Japan when surrounded by some of the most unbelievably handsome men?"

Aiden rolled her eyes. "I don't know about unbelievably handsome but they have their charms, I guess." She thought for a moment. "Well, they're all part of what's called The Host Club. Know what one is?"

"Yep."

"Good, saves time. Tamaki is the official leader of the club. He should be with how flashy he is. To him, every day is a day to have fun and make memories with everyone else. He's very dramatic and demands that everyone call him 'King' although no one actually does. The twins, Hikaru and Kaoru like to annoy the heck out of him by calling him 'My Lord.'" Aiden grinned. "It's fun to watch. Tamaki feels every emotion to its fullest it seems."

"I hadn't noticed," Kallee remarked with a rolling of her eyes.

Aiden nodded. "Kyoya really runs the show. Those of us that aren't afraid of his awful wrath have a tendency to call him the 'Shadow King.' He manipulates Tamaki to his own ends and everything is about profit for him. That's due to some deep family issues that I'll let him explain if he feels it necessary to do so. Just be warned about him. He's clever and will take what ever means necessary to get what he wants at the expense of just about anyone, including most of the club."

"Most of the club?"

"Tamaki and Haruhi excluded. Tamaki is his only real friend it seems and I'm pretty sure he has a thing for Haruhi."

"He's subtle about it."

"He's not the type to let anyone inside his head, let alone his heart. Haruhi is special though and you'll figure that out soon enough. She's direct, blunt and dense. She's also driven and one of the most academically intelligent people I've ever met. She's genuine though and not rich and spoiled like everyone else. The guys dote on her and would give her anything she could ever want if she asked. She's too stubborn though. I'm wondering who will make the first move towards her."

"The twins," Kallee said. "Which one is it that likes her? I can't tell them apart."

"That's hard to figure out," Aiden admitted. "I have to hear them talk first. Kaoru's voice is higher than Hikaru's. Only Haruhi seems to be able to tell them apart on sight. They're spoiled little rich kids as you'd expect. Hikaru is worse than Kaoru and he's the one with a crush on Haruhi. He has a tendency of speaking before thinking though. Kaoru's more tactful and a bit more observant. It's hard to pry the two apart but not impossible."

"Speaking of prying people apart," Kallee started. "The other two, Mori and Honey. Are they joined at the hip or something? They don't look like family."

"They're cousins actually. Hani," Aiden stressed the proper pronunciation, "is actually short for his last name. His first name is Mitskuni and Mori's first name is Takashi. In Japan, we use a slightly more formal way of speaking to them because they're older than us, keep that in mind. Not many people will let you call them by their first names when we get there, especially not the seniors."

"I see. But they're cousins? Really?"

Aiden smiled. "Yep. The Morinozukas were originally servants to the Haninozukas, body guards if you will, not that they need it as all the Haninozukas are typically martial arts masters. Don't get in a fist fight with Hani, he'll destroy you in a second, or so I'm told. And don't get between him and his sweets. He's devious and has the largest sweet tooth I've ever seen."

"And Mori?" Kallee's tone changed and she gave Aiden a sly look.

"Don't look at me like that," Aiden ordered. "Mori's hard to tell anything about. He doesn't talk much, he's devoted to Hani and he's very focused on what ever tasks are placed before him. He's also loyal to a fault." Aiden started fingering the necklace at her throat as she thought about the tall senior, trying to think of anything else she could say.

"And he has a crush on you."

Aiden tripped and almost fell flat on her face. "What?" she demanded once she had her balance.

Kallee smirked. "And you have a crush on him."

"Do not."

Kallee reached out and grabbed the chain Aiden was still toying with. "I saw him give you this after the competition. What is it anyway? It looks old." She squinted at the charm.

"Not sure," Aiden said looking at it too. "I meant to ask Mori about it but I haven't had the chance yet. Hani gave me the impression it was important though so I don't want to ask about it in front of the others."

"Well, go ask him," Kallee said, waving at the house. Aiden looked at where they stood. They'd made it back without her realizing it. "I'm sure you can get him alone."

"Probably as good a time as any," Aiden said and went in the house. Kallee walked behind her. After a few minutes of searching, it became apparent that Mori wasn't there.

"Drat," Kallee said. "You'll just have to ask him when he gets back."

"Too bad you won't be here to witness it," Aiden said with a smirk. "Are you sure you don't want me to wait for a time when you can eavesdrop?"

"No, no, that's alright, I'll just wait for you to find out and then I can bother you until you tell me."

"Whatever," Aiden said.

"I should probably get home and pack though," Kallee said. "I'll see you later okay?"

Aiden nodded and followed her friend to the door. "Hey, keep your suspicions to yourself for the time being, okay? There's more you need to know about the situation at school before you start spreading gossip."

"I'm not that bad," Kallee whined.

"Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Kallee grinned. "If I'm going to hang out with you at school, I might as well get to know the guys you hang out with. Who knows? Maybe I'll get the chance to date one of them. See ya." She left with a wink.

Aiden started laughing hysterically when the taller girl was out the door. "If only she knew," she gasped and wiped away imaginary tears of mirth.

"What's so funny?"

Aiden looked up from where she was bent almost double. "Hi Kaoru-kun," she greeted. "Kallee's just oblivious to the world around her sometimes."

Kaoru nodded but didn't move, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"What is with all the nerves lately?" Aiden thought as she watched him. "Go ahead and talk, Kaoru-kun. Something's on your mind."

He looked over his shoulder. "Can we go for a walk?" he asked. "Or to see the field where you keep the horses?"

Aiden shrugged. "Sure. I'll get my keys." She went into the kitchen and grabbed them off the hook before leading Kaoru out to the car. She didn't notice that both Hikaru and Hani watched the two with different emotions.

The drive was silent. Once they reached their destination, Aiden got out and led the way to the field where the horses were grazing. She climbed up onto the fence with Kaoru behind her.

Aiden waited for Kaoru to start talking. Kaoru leaned on the railing next to where Aiden sat, staring at her profile, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to without sounding like a complete idiot. When it seemed like what ever was bothering him was taking up too much of his mind and courage, Aiden hopped off the fence and whistled. The horses came trotting up.

"They could use a grooming," she told Kaoru. "Would you have me a hand?"

Kaoru, thankful for the distraction, agreed and the two led the horses into the stable where they grabbed brushes, combs and hoof picks and went to work.

"So many people that I know hate brushing their horses," Aiden said. "I find it soothing in a way." She rubbed the hard bristles across Tango's back. "I guess it also helps if the horses are well behaved." She patted Tango's neck with a smile, her head barely showing over the horse's back as she looked at Kaoru who was brushing Socks in the next stall.

Kaoru gave her a half smile, still working on Sock's back. She was right, he decided. It was soothing to work on the horses.

"Do you like it at Ouran?" he asked, starting on ground he felt was safe.

"Of course."

"What do you like most?"

Aiden leaned against Tango's back, one hand reaching out to smack the horse when it turned to bite her for her casual use of him. "Stop that," she ordered absently. "You can handle being a leaning post." To Kaoru, she said, "That's a loaded question. I think the thing I like most is that I'm not stuck under my dad's thumb anymore."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed and went back to brushing, keeping her eyes away from Kaoru's. "My dad is very controlling. Kyoya's father and mine are a lot alike in that aspect, I guess. They both always have our paths chosen for us and we have to fight if we want something different. It's not the easiest thing in the world. Being at Ouran, out of his house has given me more freedom than I've ever had. I actually have friends now. I haven't made an actual friend since I met Kallee when we were five, at least, not until I met everyone in the club."

Kaoru nodded. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"It's alright," Aiden said. She focused on a particularly muddy spot on his side, trying to loosen the crusty dirt. When she finally got the mud out, she looked up to find Kaoru wasn't next to Socks, but next to her.

Kaoru took the brush from Aiden's hand and set it on the rail of the stall they stood in. "Aiden, I really like you," he said, touching the side of her face with his fingertips. Before she could say anything in response, Kaoru bent and touched his lips to her cheek for the briefest second he could manage before standing straight again.

Aiden's eyes were about three times their normal size when Kaoru plucked up the courage to look at her face again.

Somewhere in the process of kissing Aiden, Kaoru's stomach had tried to climb out of his throat. Now, it dropped and kept dropping. He felt like it should be in his feet even though it somehow stayed firmly in his torso.

Aiden shook herself out of her funk and leaned against the stall. She climbed onto the railing and looked at Kaoru. "I see," she said. "Let's talk about this."

"Aiden, if you don't-"

"Sit." She interrupted, patting the rail next to her. Kaoru did so. Aiden swung her feet as she thought. "I'm flattered," she started. "I've never been confessed to and I thank you for that," she said, "but I can't return the strong feelings you seem to have for me."

Kaoru turned away from her, his stomach finding its way deeper into his torso and his heart stopping its pounding with a dull thud. "Can I ask why?" he said.

"Kaoru-kun, I'm not the type of girl that's going to give you the attention you need and you're going to not be the boy to give me the space I need," she said. "You're very affectionate, which is a wonderful thing. You'll make some girl with a lot less issues than I have very happy with that affection some day. I'm just not that girl for you and if we were to try being a couple, I'm pretty convinced I'd drive you away with my dislike of physical affection."

"I would give you your distance," he said.

"Could you and be happy yourself?"

Kaoru thought about it for a while. He'd grown up with someone always next to him, always being able to hug someone without being pushed away or told to leave him be. Hikaru, for as stubborn as he was, needed that physical attention too and Kaoru was willing to give it which was just as necessary as being able to give it. He looked at Aiden and wondered, if they were a couple, could he not wrap his arms around her and smother her with kisses and hugs and affection at every opportunity? Could he handle her giving him an exasperated smile and asking him to let her go so she could practice or study? Could he take her saying to leave her alone? "No," he decided aloud. "I couldn't."

Aiden placed her palm on his cheek as he closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. "Kaoru, you're like a brother to me. There when I need help but also obnoxious and over-clingy when I don't need it." She smiled. "I know things aren't going to be the same as they were, but let's try to find a way to keep things from getting awkward, okay?"

"For everyone else?"

Aiden snorted. "For me. I hate awkwardness and I'd hate to lose my friend over this. And for you because you don't deserve to feel it either."

Kaoru gave a short laugh and smiled sadly. He kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry I said anything," he said. "I should have thought it about it first. Maybe then I'd realize that we wouldn't do well together."

"Don't say that," Aiden said. "Everyone needs to deal with something like this at times. It makes them a better person for when they do meet the person that is perfect for them."

"If you say so," Kaoru said and jumped off the stall. "Should we finish with the horses?"

"I think Tango will start biting if I leave the job half done," she admitted. "Let's get back to work."

When they were climbing back into the car, Kaoru asked, "If you consider me your brother, can I consider you my sister?"

Aiden grinned. "Sounds about perfect."

* * *

Vannen: Thanks all for reading. Please push the little button at the bottom of the screen and leave me a review. I dearly love them and ego stroking. Have a good one!


	11. Day Hike

Vannen: Hello everyone! I hope you've all been enjoying this so far. Thanks to all those that have reviewed. I greatly appreciate it! Those of you that haven't, well, thank you for reading this far. Anyway, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 11

Day Hike

"Kyoya-senpai, wake up."

Someone was shaking the low-blood-pressure Demon Lord's shoulder and he was decidedly not enjoying it. He opened one eye and turned his head just enough to glare at the blurry brunette sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Come on, Kyoya-senpai," the girl said again. "If you don't get up you're going to miss breakfast before the hike."

Kyoya rolled over, still glaring, and grabbed the glasses he'd ordered and had finally arrived the night before off the headboard, wondering if his glare was losing its potency with overuse or something. When he had the glasses on his nose, he looked up at the person sitting on his bed. Haruhi. Of course.

"What?" he croaked.

"We're going hiking today, remember?" she asked. "If you don't get up soon, Aiden-kun said you'll miss breakfast."

Kyoya looked at the clock on the headboard. It wasn't even seven in the morning. He turned his glare back on Haruhi. Before he could protest the horridness of the hour, she stood from the bed. "Get up," she ordered and left the room.

Growling, Kyoya sat up and swung his feet out of bed. His head swam and he leaned over his knees, resting his head in his hands until the room settled. When it did, he got up and got dressed, still wondering what had happened to his glare that made it so Haruhi could withstand it.

* * *

In the kitchen, Aiden stood at the counter, waiting for the waffle in her large waffle iron to finish cooking. A blurry-eyed Hani leaned over the counter, watching her as she yawned and checked the latest waffle's condition. She deemed it not done yet and went back to waiting. Next to the senior, Tamaki was joyfully wolfing down the last waffle that came off the iron. The twins were more awake than Hani, but still waiting for their own waffles as were Mori and Haruhi. Kyoya was still struggling with getting out of his room.

The doorbell rang as Aiden was finally pulling the next waffle out. She looked towards the door. "Tamaki-senpai, would you get that?" she asked as she turned back to the waffle, trying to pry it out without destroying it or burning herself.

"Sure," he left his place and went to the front door as Aiden popped the waffle onto a plate and handed it to Hani. The senior just stared at it until Aiden placed a container of whipped cream and a large jar of homemade strawberry jam in front of him. The sugar instantly perked him up.

Tamaki opened the door to reveal Kallee Hill, dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, and hiking boots. Her long dark brown hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. "Ohayo Tamaki-senpai," she greeted with a grin, happy that she could remember at least a little of the Japanese she'd been taught the day before.

"Ohayo, Kallee-san," he said and opened the door wider so she could walk in. "You're coming hiking with us?"

"I wouldn't miss it. Aiden invited me over for breakfast and whatnot yesterday as well."

"Morning Kall!" Aiden's voice drifted through the living room. "You can have the next waffle."

"Hey!" Two voices called at the same time.

"Down, twins!" Aiden ordered as Kallee and Tamaki came into the kitchen. "You've had one each already. There will be plenty. You just have to wait your turn. Besides, we're using Kallee's Suburban again to get to the trailhead so she gets food first." She yawned behind her hand.

"Ah, come on," Kaoru whined.

"Uh-uh." Aiden closed the lid on the waffle iron. It gave a satisfying sizzle as the latest batch of batter came in contact with the hot top plate. Aiden checked the sides to make sure nothing leaked out before walking over to the table where the others sat.

"I'm surprised you're even awake," Kallee said. "How many alarm clocks does it take to wake you up these days anyway?"

"Three," Aiden said.

Dead silence met her words as just about every host stared at her in fear. "What?" she asked.

"The coincidences are just getting too creepy," Haurhi said under her breath.

"What?" Aiden demanded again. "Why is that such a big deal?"

Kyoya chose that moment to walk into the room. "It takes three alarm clocks to wake me up," he said while he ran a hand through his tousled hair. That simple motion made it lie perfectly flat. "They probably fear that you'll kill them if they ever wake you as I would."

Aiden looked at the others. "I'm not violent in the morning," she told them. "It takes too much energy."

"That's a relief," Tamaki breathed.

Kyoya shot him a dark look and he cowered away. The demon lord held back a self-satisfied smirk. His glare hadn't lost all of its power after all. Maybe Haruhi was just getting braver around him. The analytical part of his brain told the tiny emotional part that this was not a good thing.

When everyone had eaten, they all piled into the Suburban. This time, Kallee drove while Aiden sat in the very back seat with Mori and Hani. The twins and Haruhi sat in the middle seat with Kyoya and Tamaki in the front seat next to Kallee. If it weren't for the early hour, things could have gotten very loud. As it was, everyone except Kallee and Tamaki fell asleep.

"Tamaki-senpai?" Kallee asked after a few minutes of silence. He turned to look at her. "Can I ask a personal question?"

"Sure," he said.

"Do you dye your hair and wear contacts?"

Tamaki blinked and grinned. He ducked his head as he answered, "No, I'm half French."

"I didn't think so," Kallee said. "Your hair color looks too natural. Are you French from your mom or your dad?"

"My mom."

Kallee nodded and dropped the conversation. When she spoke again, it was on an entirely different subject. "Aren't they cute?" she asked, her gaze flicking to the rearview mirror.

Tamaki looked into the back seat to see Aiden with her head resting on Mori's chest, Mori's arm behind the seat, and Hani curled up on the seat with his head in Aiden's lap. Her hand rested on the small senior's head, her fingers threaded through his hair. As Tamaki watched, Mori's eyes blinked open to look down at the girl leaning against him. A small smile tugged at his lips as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Aiden made a face in her sleep before turning into the senior's chest a little more and rubbing her nose against him before settling down again. Mori smiled a little wider. When he had controlled his features, he looked up and made eye contact with Tamaki. Tamaki grinned and turned to face forward again as Mori leaned his head against the window and fell back asleep.

"They do make an attractive picture," Tamaki agreed as he looked at Kallee's profile.

"Do you think either of them realizes how cute they are together?"

Tamaki glanced back again. "I think Mori-senpai does. Hani-senpai most certainly has."

"You think?" Kallee asked. "Mori-senpai really might like her?"

Tamaki nodded and held up one finger next to his face. "I'm sure of it. I'd bet they're already dating."

Kallee's brow furrowed as she thought. "Aiden didn't say anything about it," she murmured and then it clicked. "The necklace? Is that it?"

"Necklace?" Tamaki asked. "What necklace?"

"The one Aiden's wearing, that Mori-senpai gave her."

Tamaki twisted in his seat and looked closer at Aiden's throat. He gasped at what he saw. He spun and looked at Kallee again. "You say Mori-senpai gave that to her? When? Did you see it with your own eyes?"

Kallee held up a hand. "Hold on, Tamaki-senpai. Is this necklace really that big of a deal?"

"Right, sorry, how rude of me," Tamaki said, recovering from his shock. "That necklace is very important in the Morinozuka family. You saw Mori-senpai give this to her?"

"Yeah," Kallee said. "Hani-senpai pointed them out to me right after the representative from Juliard left us at the competition when you were talking to your dad. Ai and Mori-senpai were outside talking and then Mori-senpai put the necklace on her and kissed her cheek before coming back inside. What's so important about this necklace?"

Tamaki glanced back over his shoulder to make sure no one was awake. "It means Mori-senpai has decided that he wants to marry Aiden-kun if she'll accept."

Kallee turned to stare at Tamaki, her eyes and mouth wide open. "Marry?" she squeaked. "What do you mean 'marry'?"

"Kallee-san, please watch the road," Tamaki said as they drifted closer and closer to the center barrier. Kallee looked forward, gripping the wheel tighter and correcting their path.

"Explain," she hissed.

"It was a tradition started generations ago in the Morinozuka family." Kallee and Tamaki jumped when Kyoya spoke. The bespectacled youth adjusted his glasses on his nose as he continued. "When the heir to the family finds someone they wish to marry, they give the necklace to the person they have chosen. That person is placed under the protection of the Morinozuka family until they decide they do not want to be a part of it if they do so."

"So Mori-senpai wants to marry Aiden? That's crazy! She's only sixteen!"

"Is it really?" Tamaki asked.

"Yes!"

"Matters such as these are handled differently in Japan, especially in our social class," Kyoya cut in before they could start arguing. "Many of us in wealthier families are betrothed the day we're born, even before we're born sometimes. The rest of us, at least those of us that are heirs to large fortunes, are expected to be betrothed by the time we graduate from high school or by the time we turn eighteen, which ever comes last. As Aiden-kun and her family live in Japan, it's only natural for her to be treated in the same manner as the rest of us."

"But Aiden doesn't know what the necklace means. She told me so herself," Kallee said.

"Mori-senpai will tell her," Kyoya said. "Now, if you two are done being loud, I'm going back to sleep." He leaned his head back against the window and promptly did so.

Kallee seemed to seethe in anger as she gripped the steering wheel for a while. "You mean to tell me that Aiden could be married the day she gets out of high school?" she asked.

"She'd have to accept Mori-senpai's offer first and no. Mori-senpai will finish college at least. They may wait for Aiden-san to finish as well. They'll only be engaged."

"She's only sixteen," Kallee murmured again.

"And Mori-senpai is eighteen and will graduate this year," Tamaki told her. "It's custom for him to pick a bride at this time or for his family to pick one for him. Would it be such a bad thing for them to be engaged if they make each other happy?" He looked at the two in the back seat again.

Kallee didn't reply right away. "He better tell her soon," she growled.

"He will, Kallee-san. Mori-senpai is probably the most honorable man I know. He'll do the right thing by Aiden-kun and respect whatever decision she makes."

They remained silent for a while before Kallee started giggling. Tamaki stared at her. "Did I miss something amusing?" he asked.

Kallee giggled some more. "I want to see Aiden's face when Mori-senpai proposes," she said. "It'll be priceless. She's always sworn up and down and left and right that she'll be the last girl on earth to be proposed to. She swears she's going to start a convent for musicians."

"How long have you two been friends?" Tamaki asked.

"Since we were five," Kallee said. "We were each other's first friend." She grinned. "We used to get in so much trouble."

"Really?" Tamaki asked.

"Well, I mostly got in trouble and Aiden baled me out." Her smile widened and she started telling Tamaki about some of the things she had done and how Aiden had gotten her out of trouble.

* * *

When they reached the trailhead to the mountain they were going to climb, Haruhi had to wake Kyoya up (Tamaki was too scared to do it) and Mori woke up Aiden. When he shook the musician's shoulder, she lashed out. He caught her fist and waited until she was more awake before letting go. They climbed out of the backseat after the twins and Hani.

As everyone stretched, Aiden and Kallee pulled backpacks out of the back hatch. They handed one to everyone.

"What are these?" Hikaru asked.

"Water, lunch, snacks, and a basic first aid kit," Aiden said. "Kallee put them together last night." She pulled out the last two backpacks and handed one to Mori and shrugged the other one on her own shoulders. She reached in and grabbed one last pack. It was longer and she wrapped it around her waste, buckling it over her left hip. "This is a more advanced first aid kit," Aiden explained before anyone could ask, "in case we sprain an ankle or something."

"Everyone ready?" Kallee asked. When everyone replied in the affirmative, she turned towards a trail. "Let's go!" She led the way with Tamaki and the twins behind her. Aiden, Mori, and Hani followed with Kyoya and Haruhi bringing up the rear.

Kallee set a brisk pace that started to show. Twice, the twins called for the girl to slow down or stop for a rest within the first two miles. The climb was hard and steep and those from lower elevations were starting to suffer.

"Haruhi-kun? Are you alright?" Kyoya stopped next to Haruhi who was bent double and gasping, holding onto her stomach.

"No," she said. "My stomach and head hurt."

"Aiden-kun?" Kyoya called up the line. The girl turned, saw Haruhi, told Kallee to stop and pushed past Mori and Hani to reach Haruhi.

"Haruhi-kun?" she asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Stomach," Haruhi gasped. "Headache."

Aiden guided Haruhi to a rock and sat her down. She twisted the pack on her hips around so she could get into it if she needed. She placed her forehead against Haruhi's and thought for a second. "No fever," she murmured. "Were you feeling ill earlier?"

Haruhi shook her head, still grimacing.

"Did you trip or anything? No? Have you been drinking water since we started? Yes. Okay." Aiden tapped her chin. "What are the most likely possibilities?" she murmured.

"Altitude sickness," Kyoya said.

Aiden nodded. "Or an onset of the flu but she probably would have felt something earlier if that were the case."

Kyoya nodded. "Do you have anything for pain?" he asked, pointing at the pack. Aiden dug around in it and found a packet of two individually wrapped pills. She handed them to him.

"I'll take her back down," Kyoya said.

"No," Haruhi gasped. "You shouldn't have to stop because of me. I'll go back by myself."

"That's not a smart idea. Kyoya-senpai will go with you. If it is altitude sickness, it should pass as you get closer to the bottom. Give it some time, and then follow at a slower pace. Kallee seems to have forgotten we're not all as long legged as she is." Aiden smiled at Haruhi, inviting her to join in her humor. The other girl gave a shaky smile. "Drink lots of water and take it easy," Aiden ordered. "You got her Kyoya-senpai?"

"Of course," Kyoya crouched next to Haruhi and took her wrist, checking her pulse.

"Kyoya-senp-" Haruhi started to protest.

"I'm staying," he interrupted and checked her forehead with the back of his hand, just to be sure.

"If you need anything, let me know," Aiden said and handed him a two-way radio and the keys to the Suburban. Kyoya nodded and Aiden turned back to Kallee. "Let's go but keep a slower pace, okay? Some of us are shorter than you."

Kallee grinned sheepishly and started up the hill again.

Kyoya turned back to Haruhi. "Can you stand?" he asked. Haruhi nodded and he stood and stretched out a hand to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. The two started a steady, slow pace down the hill, Kyoya in front. They came to a spot with a lot of large rocks and tree roots in the path. Kyoya walked down it easily enough but Haruhi struggled. Seeing this, Kyoya held his hand out to her again and she took it, shaking slightly as she worked her way off the rocks. When she was on more even ground, he let go of her hand. Each time they came to a rocky part of the trail, Kyoya would reach back and let Haruhi grip his hand as she climbed down. Finally, they made it back to the Suburban. Kyoya opened the back hatch and Haruhi sat down, dangling her legs out the back as she breathed.

"Do you feel any better?" he asked and picked up her wrist to check her pulse again.

"Much," Haruhi admitted. "A little headachy but my stomach doesn't hurt any more."

Kyoya handed her the little pack of pills Aiden had handed him earlier. "Take these," he ordered. "We'll rest here a while and try again when you're ready. It seems it was just altitude sickness bothering you."

Haruhi nodded and took the pills he offered her. They waited in silence as they started working and Haruhi's headache diminished. "I think I'm feeling better now," she said about twenty minutes later.

"Do you want to start back up now?" Kyoya asked, studying her with a critical eye. Her color had returned and she seemed to be sitting straighter and her legs were swinging with more animation.

"Sure." Haruhi jumped from the back of the Suburban and grabbed the backpack she'd set down when they got there. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked.

"I'm used to being in different elevations on a regular basis," Kyoya said. "We'll take it easy though, just to be sure you're alright." He led the way back to the trail. "Why don't you go first," he said. "I don't want you falling backwards."

Haruhi nodded and started up the trail, her pace slower than the one Kallee set the others but still fast enough that it wouldn't take all day to make the hike. After a few minutes of silent hiking, she glanced over her shoulder. Kyoya was studying their surroundings.

"I'm surprised you don't have your camera," Haruhi commented.

"I do have it. There's not much to take pictures of at the moment."

"May I see it?" she asked. Kyoya dug it out of his pocket and handed it to her. She stopped walking as she fiddled with it, turning it on and choosing a setting. When Kyoya caught up to her, he bent to look at what she was doing with his camera. As soon as his face was close to hers, Haruhi turned the camera around so it was pointing at them and took a picture.

Kyoya blinked and stood straight.

"See," Haruhi said, "plenty of things to take pictures of." She turned the camera around to show the two of them in the view screen, Haruhi grinning and Kyoya with a curious expression. "Although you could smile," she said.

Kyoya took the camera from her, flipped it around and placed his head on her shoulder. She smiled and he took the picture. When he showed it to her, her smile grew. "Much better," she said seeing the smirk on Kyoya's face in the picture. "Can I have a copy when you print them?"

"Of course," Kyoya said and snapped a quick picture of her before turning the camera off and tucking it into his pocket. "Shall we?" he asked while motioning to the trail. Haruhi nodded and they started walking again.

They'd almost gotten to the point where they'd split up with the others when the two-way radio attached to Kyoya's belt buzzed. He pulled it away and spoke into it. "Yes Aiden-kun?"

"Everything okay down there?" Aiden asked, her voice sounding scratchy from the static over the radio.

"Yes, we're on our way back up," Kyoya said.

"Good," Aiden said. "If you get warm, keep your coats with you anyway. It may be rather cold at the top. We'll see you up there."

"Of course," Kyoya said and clipped the radio on his belt again. He and Haruhi continued walking.

As they walked, Kyoya studied the girl that walked just in front of him. Haruhi was smiling, her head turned up so her face could absorb more sunlight. As he watched, the toe of her shoe caught a rock and she stumbled. Instinctively, Kyoya reached out and caught her arm, pulling her back into a standing position close to him.

"Thanks, Senpai," she said with a smile. "I guess I should watch my feet more."

He motioned for her to start walking again. Haruhi turned and obeyed, being careful of placing her feet better.

Suddenly, Haruhi stopped. Kyoya almost bumped into her.

"What-" he started to ask but closed his mouth when Haruhi spun and put her hand over it.

"Quiet," she hissed without looking up at him. She kept her eyes focused on something behind her. "Look." She pointed to the side of the trail and Kyoya looked. There among the trees was a full-grown moose with what appeared to be a yearling and a calf. Slowly, Kyoya pulled his camera out of his pocket and took a few pictures. The moose and her young ones slowly worked their way through the trees and around the other side of the hill, away from the direction Kyoya and Haruhi were taking. As they went, Kyoya looked at Haruhi. She was grinning as she watched the mother and children. While she was distracted, he took a picture or two of her before pushing his camera back in his pocket.

The moose disappeared and Haruhi breathed a sigh of relief. "They're beautiful," she commented.

"But dangerous," Kyoya said. "I'm glad you spotted them before we got too close."

"So am I," Haruhi said. "Hey look!" she said, pointing up the hill to the right. "I think I see the others!" Kyoya looked up and, sure enough, along a ridge far above them, they could see people walking.

"Let's find out," he said and pulled the two way radio off his belt again. "Aiden-kun," he said into it.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Is that you we see on the ridge?" Kyoya asked.

"Possibly," Aiden said. One of the figures started jumping up and down. "Can you see Tamaki-senpai acting like an idiot?" There was a loud "hey!" in the background and the figure stopped jumping.

"I do believe we do."

"Can they see us?" Haruhi asked, waving her arms over her head.

"Can you see us?" Kyoya asked. "We're to your right."

"I think so. Are you waving your arms over your head?"

"Haruhi-kun is."

"Yep. You've got about three more miles to go. Do you want us to wait here or meet you at the top?"

Kyoya looked at Haruhi who was still waving and grinning. She looked at him, still smiling. "Doesn't matter to me," she said.

"Which ever you prefer," Kyoya said. There was silence. Kyoya looked up at the ridge to see four tall and one short figure waving. The tallest and a short figure were standing calmly. The waving paused for a second and then started up again.

"We'll wait here," Aiden said. "It might be cold at the top, in which case, we don't want to be sitting around waiting there. It's starting to get cold here but not too bad. We'll see you in a bit." The calm short figure moved to the side and sat on something as he watched, the tallest figure following.

"Okay." Kyoya clipped the two-way back in its spot. He looked over at Haruhi. "Ready?"

"Hold on," she said, squinting. Kyoya looked up to see the five figures still waving. The other two were over where the short one had sat down. The tallest one was shrugging off his coat and placing it around the shorter one's shoulders. "Aiden-kun and Mori-senpai?" Haruhi guessed.

"It must be," Kyoya said as they started climbing again. "What do you think of their current situation?"

"What do you mean?"

"The very likely possibility that Mori-senpai will propose to Aiden-kun."

Haruhi thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. They're both a little young to get married."

"How old is old enough?" Kyoya asked.

"That would depend on the person, I guess," Haruhi said. "I guess they both might be mature enough, at least they act like it."

"You do realize that they won't get married until after Mori-senpai finishes college, correct?"

Haruhi shook her head. "That didn't occur to me. My parents had a very short engagement so I don't think of engagements as long things."

"How short?"

"Four or five months. I'm not exactly sure." Kyoya stared at the back of her head in astonishment, his eyes just a little wider than usual. "How long were your parents engaged?" Haruhi asked.

He thought for a moment, doing the calculations in his head. "Twenty-two years."

Haruhi stumbled again but caught herself in time. "Twenty-two _years_?" She asked.

"They were betrothed when my mother was born," he said. "A quite common occurrence in the upper class. Your parents' short engagement is astounding to me."

"Are you engaged?" Haruhi asked.

Kyoya smirked. "No, thank heavens. My mother decided we should have a little say in who we marry."

"A little?"

"It's easier to protest an arranged marriage with someone you know you won't be happy with when you're old enough to understand the concept," Kyoya said. "For example, my sister was engaged once before she met her husband. My parents arranged it and, as Fuyumi-neesan got to know him and his family, she discovered that he had a tendency to knock women around, including his many lovers. Once she discovered this, Mother called the engagement off. It would have been highly profitable for the family but not for my sister. If she had been engaged to him since her birth, it would have been much more difficult to back out of the contract."

"Your poor sister," Haruhi said.

Kyoya nodded, appreciating her concern. "Fuyumi-neesan is happy now," he told the girl. "She and her husband are expecting their first child."

"Really?" Haruhi turned to look at him as she walked backwards. "Do they know what it is yet?"

"A girl," Kyoya said. "She's due in a few more weeks."

"What are they going to name her?"

Kyoya shook his head. "Fuyumi-neesan will not name someone she has not met."

Haruhi grinned. "That makes a lot of sense. Are you excited?"

"Me?"

"You'll be an uncle after all."

Kyoya paused. "I hadn't really thought about it. I guess I am. Mostly I'm excited for my sister. She's so ecstatic about the baby. It's good to see her as happy as she is."

Haruhi turned back around. "You seem to really like your sister."

"You'll understand why when you meet her," he said.

She looked over her shoulder. "You want me to meet your sister?"

"If you would like to. I'll warn you. She can be a little Tamaki-esk when she puts her mind to it."

"Really?" Haruhi's tone was disbelieving.

"Really."

She was silent for a while before shaking her head. "I can't picture it."

Kyoya almost smiled at that. "I'll introduce you to her when we return to Japan," he said. "You'll understand then."

"I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

High on the ridge, Aiden leaned against a tree as she watched Tamaki, the twins, Hani, and Kallee play freeze tag. Mori stood next to her seat, watching as well, just in case his cousin needed him for something. They'd been waiting for Kyoya and Haruhi to catch up for about a half an hour. Aiden figured they'd catch up in the next ten minutes or so. In the meantime, the others had decided to play "commoner games." Kallee, interested, asked what they meant. When she was told titles such as "kick the can" and "sardines" she started to laugh.

"Those are children's games!" she laughed.

"You know them than?" Tamaki asked.

"Of course," Kallee said. In no time, they were enjoying their current game of freeze tag.

Aiden had opted to not play and Mori had done so as well. She kept looking in the direction they were headed, still unable to see the top of the mountain but knowing it wasn't far away.

"Aiden?" Mori asked.

"I think there's probably snow further up the trail," she said. "Either that or it rained last night. The ground's too soft and muddy in places. I don't smell any snow though." She turned her head up the trail and sniffed. "Yep, there probably isn't any, at least on this side of the mountain. I think there's a glacier on the other side."

Mori nodded and went back to watching his charge.

"Aiden! Aiden! Save me!" Kallee came racing over to hide behind her friend.

"I am not a shield," Aiden said as Kallee danced around her, trying to keep her distance from Hani who was it for this round of freeze tag.

"Close enough," Kallee said, still trying to evade the determined senior.

"No fair Aiden-chan!" Hani growled.

"I'm just sitting here!" the girl said. "Kallee is the one that's cheating."

"Hey!" Kallee popped her head over the musician's shoulder so she could glare at Aiden.

"Gotcha!" Hani jumped and crashed into Aiden, who fell into Kallee. Somehow during the ensuing fall, Hani managed to tag Kallee, effectively winning the game.

"Everyone okay?" Aiden asked, sandwiched between the two. There was silence for about a second before Kallee and Hani started laughing. Aiden joined in while trying to pull herself from the pile of chuckling bodies. The weight on her chest disappeared and a hand gripped her arm firmly. Looking up, she saw Mori held her with his left hand while his right held Hani against his side.

"Thanks," she said as he pulled her to her feet. She turned and helped Kallee stand. The taller girl could barely get to her feet, she was laughing so hard.

"I get the feeling we missed something."

Aiden turned around to see Kyoya and Haruhi. The twins and Tamaki still stood where they'd been tagged "frozen" in place.

"Freeze tag," Aiden said in explanation. Haruhi nodded her understanding as Kyoya just blinked in confusion. "Commoner game," Aiden said for his benefit. He nodded.

"Hani-senpai won," Kallee said. "You guys can move now."

"I don't think that was quite fair," Tamaki complained.

"He got me fair and square," Kallee said.

Hani tugged at Aiden's pant leg as Kallee and Tamaki argued. She looked down at him. "Sorry Aiden-chan. Are you okay?"

"I think so," Aiden said looking herself over. "I don't seem to be-" she stopped. "Never mind, I am bleeding." She touched the back of her right arm gingerly. She looked at the blood clinging to her fingertips. "At least it doesn't hurt much."

"You should still clean it," Kyoya said as he walked over to look at Aiden's arm. She craned, trying to see what he was doing. "Hold still," he said as he pulled his water bottle out. He took the cap off and poured a little over her arm so he could see the cut through the blood. "It's long, but not deep," he said. "What's in this first aid kit?" he asked, tapping the pack belted to her waist.

"Pretty much everything I'll need to take care of it and then some," Aiden said as she unbuckled the kit. She set it down on the rock she'd been sitting on and opened it.

Kyoya looked over her shoulder. "Give me the alcohol wipes, the antiseptic, the gauze, the pre-wrap, the tape and the scissors." Aiden dug everything out and handed it to him. He set it next to him in a neat pile. Kyoya poured more water on the cut to clean most of the blood away before he ripped open one of the alcohol wipes. He touched her arm above the cut and she flinched.

"That's cold," she said.

"It's about to sting," he warned.

Aiden nodded and clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the pain. When Kyoya touched the wipe to her cut arm, she hissed. Her left hand lashed out and grabbed the nearest thing to her. She gripped whatever it was until her knuckles turned white. Kyoya carefully wiped her arm, making sure to get all the dirt out of it before applying antiseptic. When he'd stopped using the alcohol pad, Aiden's grip loosened and she relaxed. She looked up as Kyoya folded a layer of gauze and placed it over her cut before wrapping the area with the pre-wrap and then tape. Mori crouched next to her. She'd gripped his forearm while her arm stung.

"Sorry," she said so only he and Kyoya would hear.

Mori ruffled her hair with a small smile. "It's okay."

"You okay?" Kaoru asked coming over.

"I think so," Aiden said. "Any problems, Kyoya-senpai?"

Kyoya cut the piece of tape he'd just wrapped around her arm. "That should do it. We'll check it again when we get back to civilization tonight."

Aiden looked at the job he'd done. "Looks good to me. Thanks." She looked at the concerned faces surrounding her. "I'd say 'no blood, no foul' but there was blood," she said with a grin. She took the first aid kit Kyoya had repacked for her and buckled it back around her waist. "Should we keep going? You'll see Tablerock as soon as we reach the top of that hill." She pointed at the rise in front of them.

"Why did we stop?" Hikaru demanded.

"So we could all see it at the same time," Aiden said looking at Haruhi and Kyoya. "Shall we?" She turned and started up the hill.

"Race you!" Hikaru and Kaoru yelled as they ran past everyone. Aiden and Kallee immediately broke into a run. Tamaki, Mori, and Hani soon followed. Haruhi looked up at Kyoya, grinned, and started sprinting after the others. Shaking his head, Kyoya started running as well.

* * *

"Where did you learn to run like that?" Aiden asked, linking her hands together behind her head and standing straight as she took deep breaths.

Kyoya gave her a blank look as he too stood straight, breathing hard. He'd beat everyone to the top of the hill. Mori and Hani had been right behind him with Aiden and Hikaru behind them. Kallee had outdistanced Tamaki and Kaoru. Haruhi had brought up the rear. Now, they looked at the top of the mountain as they recovered from their uphill sprint.

"Is that snow?" Haruhi asked, squinting.

"On the north side, yes," Aiden said. "I'm glad there isn't any on the path."

Kallee laughed. "Do you remember when we hiked it during the last week of July when we were thirteen?"

Aiden grinned. "Yeah and half the girls that were with us didn't bring their coats all the way up so they started into the first stages of hypothermia so we had to sprint the first half mile on the way down."

"That was so much fun," Kallee said.

"Only because we kept our coats and weren't the ones freezing to death."

"That's true." They smirked at each other.

"Can I see your camera, Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi asked once she'd recovered her breath and the group started walking up the path, Aiden and Kallee telling stories from the last time they climbed the mountain. He handed it to her. She started taking pictures of all the hosts, especially enjoying catching the twins flopped on their backs with their eyes closed and limbs sprawled in every direction as they gasped for air.

The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful. True to Aiden's words, the top was cold and there was snow on the north side of the mountain. Haruhi took pictures of all of the hosts as they scrambled up the shale that made up the last few yards of the trail. At the top, they settled down and ate their lunches.

Kallee walked to the very tip of the plateau and shaded her eyes to look across the distance at two more mountains.

"The Grand Tetons," she told Tamaki when he joined her. "I've always wanted to climb them but it's supposed to be a lot harder than this and I don't know anyone who will climb it with me."

"Wouldn't Aiden-san?"

Kallee smirked. "Are you kidding? She's terrified of heights and there's one point that you've got about three feet between you and a thousand foot or so drop."

"That's right," he said. "I'd forgotten she hated heights." He stared out at the view.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kallee asked after a while.

"Absolutely stunning," Tamaki agreed, glancing at the tall brunette out of the corner of his eye.

She sighed and sat down, dangling her legs over the ten foot cliff below them. "Every time I climb this I find myself wanting to stay up here and watch the sunset but the climb is too dangerous to make in the dark and I never think of bringing the necessary stuff to camp over night." Kallee looked up at Tamaki with a smile.

Tamaki nodded and looked away from the girl. Strangely, he felt his face heating up.

On the other side of the small plateau, Aiden watched her childhood friend and the host club king. She grinned when she saw Tamaki quickly turn back to the view to keep from being caught staring, even as his blush gave him away to anyone that cared to really look. "Does this scene just make you think of a sappy romance?" she asked no one in particular.

Kaoru looked up from where he sat next to Aiden. He started laughing. "It does. It's absolutely ridiculous!"

"Just the thing Tono would envision," Hikaru added as he too started to laugh uproariously.

Aiden grinned. "Shall we 'randomly' burst out into the sappiest love song we can think of?"

"We shall," the twins agreed and started singing an old Japanese song at the top of their lungs. Tamaki started shouting indignantly at them somewhere along the line slipping into French, and the rest of the club laughed as Kallee stared, bewildered as to what in the world was going on.

"Ah…" Aiden whined. "I don't know that one."

* * *

Vannen: And there you have it for this chapter! I hope you all have enjoyed it. If you did, I'd like to hear of your enjoyment so please, push the little button below that brings you to the page that lets your review. Thanks everyone!


	12. Under Twenty-One

Vannen: Hi! I promise I haven't abandoned this. I'm just horrible at remembering to post new chapters. So, anyway, here's a new chapter. I have another 3 chapters already typed up. I just have to post them... Anyway, on with the fic!

* * *

Chapter 12

Under Twenty-One

The group stayed together on the way down the mountain, talking and laughing. Kyoya and Haruhi handed his camera back and forth, taking pictures of the other hosts, Kallee and of each other. They reached the Suburban late in the afternoon and drove the two hours back to Aiden's house. Kallee went home to clean up but joined them again that evening for dinner and to learn more Japanese.

The next day was another rest day for the group. Kallee joined them again for dinner in the evening. After dinner was over, Aiden went to the piano, practicing for an upcoming performance at Ouran. Haruhi came and sat in the living room with her, working on her homework at the coffee table. For the most part, the boys relaxed around the house. Kallee and Tamaki had commandeered the television that was upstairs and the twins the one in the basement. Mori sat outside in the sun reading a book while Hani took a nap, somehow sleeping through Aiden's playing of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto number three. Kyoya had disappeared out the front door.

The twins got bored. They came up the stairs and sat on both of Aiden's sides as she covered up the third page of the Concerto and started at the beginning of it, trying to play it from memory.

"Aiden-chan!" they whined, Hikaru wrapping his arm over her shoulders and Kaoru wrapping one around her waist. "We're bored."

"That's nice," she said as she stared at her hands. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Entertain us of course," Hikaru said as if it were the world's most obvious solution.

"Entertain yourselves," Haruhi snapped from where she was doing homework at the coffee table. "We're busy."

Hikaru looked over his shoulder at the girl. "What got your OOF!" he doubled over, clutching his ribs where Aiden's elbow had caught him.

"You may want to move," she told the twins. "I think I need the entire piano for this piece and thus I'll be accidentally elbowing you again."

"That was an accident?" Hikaru demanded.

"If it weren't, you'd be on the floor," Aiden said. She paused in her playing, her forehead crinkling in thought. "Drat," she muttered. "I forgot the forty-third measure. I was so close too." She pulled the blank sheet of paper off the third page of her music and started playing the measure she'd forgotten over and over again. After the fourth time through, she looked down at her hands again, ignoring the music in front of her.

Kaoru stood up from the bench and went to look out the large front window. He sighed, still bored.

"Can't you go somewhere else?" Haruhi asked as she rubbed out a mistake on her paper with her eraser.

"But you're in here," Hikaru purred, sitting next to her and wrapping his arms around the small girl.

"And thus you should leave." Haruhi glared at him for a second but went back to ignoring him as she worked on her physics homework.

"Isn't there anything we can do around here?" Kaoru whined.

Aiden stopped playing the piano. "If I agree to take you guys to the under twenty-one club tonight will you stop bothering us?"

"Under twenty-one club?" Hikaru asked.

"What's that?" Kaoru added.

"It's a club for minors," Aiden said. "I don't know the legal drinking age in Japan but here it's twenty-one. Most clubs serve alcohol so we wouldn't be allowed in but someone opened one for minors about a year ago and I hear it's still open and business is doing well."

"It is."

Aiden looked over the tops of her glasses at Kallee as she and Tamaki walked in. "They've done a lot of updates too. It's really an awesome place."

"You've been recently?" Aiden asked.

"Yeah, just two weeks ago for Kelly's party."

"Kelly?" Hikaru asked.

"My little sister."

"More like little demon," Aiden grumbled under her breath.

"Can we go?" Kaoru asked, giving Aiden a pair of sad eyes.

"Do you promise not to bother Haruhi-kun and me for the rest of the trip?" The twins nodded enthusiastically. "Alright, we can go. Tell the others we'll leave in about three hours."

The twins cheered and went to find Kyoya, Mori, and Hani.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this," Aiden muttered and went back to playing the piano.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Haruhi and Aiden were dragged over to Kallee's house.

"If we're going clubbing," the tall girl said, "you're not going to be dressed in boys' clothing."

"How do you expect us to not dress like guys when that's about all the clothing we brought?" Aiden demanded.

Kallee rolled her eyes at her friend. "I have younger sisters, remember? I'll have plenty of clothes that will fit the two of you."

"Great," Aiden grumbled, casting a glance at Haruhi as they climbed the steps at Kallee's house.

Kallee practically dragged them into her bedroom and started rummaging through her closet. She grabbed some clothes, tossed them on her bed, and disappeared out the door. She came back with armfuls of clothes.

"Try these on," she said, dumping them on the bed next to the much smaller pile of clothes.

Aiden started digging through the clothes warily. She pulled out a short, pleated skirt. "You expect me to wear this?" she asked.

"No, that one is a little too short for you. It's for Haruhi-kun to try."

"Do I really have to go?" Haruhi asked.

"Do you want the twins to not bother us for the rest of the week?" Aiden shot back, still digging through the clothes.

"Good point," Haruhi said, thinking of the pile of books waiting for her to study in the next few weeks.

Kallee looked at the two shorter girls. "So," she asked, "What types of women do Mori-senpai and Kyoya-senpai like?"

Aiden and Haruhi spun. "Why would I care what kind of woman Mori-senpai likes?" Aiden demanded at the same time Haruhi asked "What does Kyoya-senpai have to do with anything?"

Kallee burst out laughing and the two girls looked at each other, noting the blushes on each other's cheeks before starting to laugh as well.

"Me thinks you do protest too much," Kallee finally managed to say, wagging a finger at Aiden and Haruhi as they settled down again. "Now spill. What's going on? What do you think of them?"

"I hate how observant you are when it comes to people liking other people," Aiden said.

"It's what I do, now spill." Kallee sat on the bed cross legged and waited for the girls to talk. Her eyes kept bouncing between Aiden and Haruhi. Aiden stared at Haruhi. Haruhi stared at Aiden. "Somebody talk already!" Kallee cried.

"You first," Aiden said, her gaze fixed on Haruhi. "Do you really like the Shadow King?"

Haruhi shrugged. "I'm not sure," she said, looking down. "It's easier to have an intelligent conversation with him than the others, but he seems to like you. At least, he flirts with you a lot."

"Easy to have a conversation if you're not afraid of being blackmailed later," Aiden thought. Out loud, she said, "He doesn't like me in that way."

"What makes you think that?"

"He just doesn't," Aiden reassured her. "Ask him yourself if you don't believe me."

"There's no scandal in that," Kallee pouted. "You'll have to explain the 'Shadow King' comment later."

Aiden snorted. "I think I should tell you the situation at school," she said. "That'll make you happier. Everyone, except the Host Club, thinks we're boys with a very few exceptions."

Kallee stared. "Boys?" she demanded. "How did that happen?"

"Long story," Aiden and Haruhi chorused.

"Fine," Kallee said, "but you will tell me before we get to Japan."

Aiden rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah," she said. "You already know that I'm in the same boat as Haruhi when it comes to Mori-senpai. Now spill what's going on between you and Tamaki-senpai."

Kallee's face reddened.

"Thought so," Aiden said. "He's already asked you out, hasn't he?"

"Well, no," Kallee said, "but he has made it clear that he likes me."

"Are you sure that's not his hostliness talking?" Haruhi wondered.

"You should have seen the look on his face when Kallee first showed up," Aiden said. "It was priceless."

Kallee, not liking the direction of the conversation, tried to turn it. "So, everyone thinks you're boys? You'll never be able to date Kyoya-senpai and Mori-senpai."

"I don't really care if the school thinks I'm gay," Aiden said. "It's not like I'll see them after I graduate from high school."

"But are the guys secure enough to be able to handle it?" Kallee asked.

"It's a moot point anyway," Aiden said as she eyed the stack of clothes Kallee had pulled out for herself. "At least for me. I have no plans of dating anyone." Unconsciously, her hand went to the necklace at her throat.

Kallee rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You can tell me how you got dragged into posing as a boy while we get ready." She picked up a black and red form fitting, sleeveless shirt and black knee length skirt with a small frill at the end. "What do you think?"

Aiden and Haruhi exchanged glances. "No way," they chorused. Haruhi picked up a pink dress. Its slender cut would hug Kallee's slim figure well and the slit up the side would show off her shapely legs.

"Tamaki-senpai will be more impressed by this," she said as Aiden nodded her agreement even while she kept digging.

"Throw this around your waist and you'll be good," Aiden said and pulled a white ribbon free of a different dress. "Well, once you find some nice, strappy heals to go with it."

"I didn't realize you knew clothes," Kallee said, giving Aiden a critical look.

"I don't," Aiden said, "but I usually see girls that wear pink with something white to break everything up." She looked up at Kallee. "Besides, it's easier to dress someone else than yourself. I've known you long enough that I know what accentuates your figure. All I see when I try to make myself look nice is all my many, many flaws." She turned to Haruhi, considering.

"We need to get bookish Kyoya-senpai to lighten up a little," Kallee said finally. She started digging in the larger pile of clothes, muttering something about black, tight clothing.

Aiden joined in the digging. "Do you still have that black skirt you wore to your brother's graduation?" she asked. "It should be about Haruhi-kun's size."

"Perfect!" Kallee said. "I think Kelly borrowed it and never gave it back." She disappeared only to reappear a few minutes later with a skirt that would barely reach Haruhi's knees.

"And I just found the perfect top to go with it," Aiden said as she held up a black shirt. Blue flowers were stitched into it around the stomach, twining in and out of each other. The word "courage" was printed in black amongst the rose vines. "Skinny as you are, this will show off what little figure you have." She grinned.

"What do we do with her hair?" Kallee asked.

"Flip it out and tie a blue ribbon just behind her ears," Aiden said. "I'm more concerned about the shoes. Chunky shoes or sandals?"

"Black and blue low top Chuck Taylors," Kallee said decisively. "Otherwise, she'll look like she's trying too hard."

"No heal?" Aiden asked. "She's a lot shorter than him."

"Good point," Kallee said. "What are our options for shoes that will fit her?" she went to her closet and stared at the floor. The two girls followed her. They stared at the massive amount of shoes for a while.

"I can only see the Chucks looking okay," Aiden admitted, poking at a blue pair with her own foot.

"I think you're right," Kallee said and she picked up the shoes and handed them to Haruhi. "Bathroom's down the hall on your left. Go change." Resigned, Haruhi did as she was told.

When she came back, both Aiden and Kallee nodded. "Glad we went with the Chucks," they chorused.

"Does everything look okay?" Haruhi asked, twisting to see her back over her shoulder.

"Turn," Kallee ordered, drawing a circle in the air with her finger. As Haruhi turned, she and Aiden looked her over with a critical eye.

"I like how the top of the skirt laces up on the sides," Aiden said. "Adds just a little ornamentation to it."

"And the shirt really does hug her figure," Kallee said. "Good choices."

"What do you think Haruhi-kun?" Aiden asked. "Will Kyoya-senpai like it?"

"I guess," she said, not sounding sure.

Kallee was shaking her head. "She looks good," she said, "but we really need to knock Kyoya-senpai's socks off."

"I thought we were just going to lighten him up a bit," Aiden said. "If we knock his socks off, we might scare him off. He may be the Shadow King but I'm sure he has limits as to what he can stand."

Haruhi nodded, knowing she better agree or she might end up with something that showed a lot more skin.

"We'll make her more dramatic when we deal with her hair and makeup," Kallee finally agreed. "Now, for your clothes." She grinned at Aiden.

"Get that evil glint out of your eye," the pianist snapped. "I have my own limits. No skirts or dresses."

Kallee turned to Haruhi. "What do you think?" she asked. "What will Mori-senpai enjoy the most?"

Haruhi was already digging through the clothes again. "Nothing stuffy, but nothing too outlandish either." She was already pulling a few clothes out of the pile and laying them out in layers. Finally, she stood back. "Think that will work?" she asked.

Kallee looked at the outfit Haruhi had put together. "That is a stroke of genius. Go try it on." She thrust the pile at Aiden who rolled her eyes and went to do as she was told while the other two tried to figure out what shoes the musician should wear.

"Well?" Aiden came back into the room wearing a pair of dark, skinny jeans, a white tank top, a dark blue, low cut button down shirt with black stitching and a cut that flattered her small frame and a white, thigh-length coat with silver accents. Only the third button was done up on her shirt, showing the swirling blue stitching on her tank top underneath. The look gave her a roguish, chic appearance.

"Genius, as I said," Kallee affirmed. "Here are your shoes." She held up a pair of white heals that would make Aiden about four inches taller.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"I was in ballroom with you. I know you can handle those shoes without blinking. Besides, without them, you're far too short for Mori-senpai."

"Don't you dare tell the twins I can wear them easily," Aiden grumbled but joined Kallee in helping fix Haruhi's hair and tell the stories of how they got roped into the Host Club.

* * *

Kallee, Haruhi, and Aiden walked in the front door of Aiden's house about ten minutes before they meant to leave.

"Looking good."

The girls looked to the side to see Hikaru and Kaoru grinning as they lounged on the couch. Hikaru wore a pair of tight black pants and a black, sleeveless shirt, the neck of which had extra material and sagged over his shoulders and chest. A pair of black sleeves was held to his biceps with white cloth and silver buckles, a matching white belt around his waist. Kaoru's clothes were simpler. He wore a pair of light acid washed jeans and a black button down shirt, the top two buttons left open. His belt was black.

"Not so bad yourself," Kallee said with a grin. She slapped Aiden's hand as the pianist reached to run a hand through her hair. "Don't you dare spoil our hard work before Mori-senpai sees you," she hissed.

"Did I hear the girls come-" Tamaki stopped mid sentence as he walked in and saw the three girls, or rather, he saw Kallee. His jaw remained open and his eyes seemed to go blank. Haruhi and Aiden smirked at each other as Kallee blushed and tried not to stare at the figure Tamaki struck in his white, soft cloth pants, white shirt, and the white jacket with blue accents down the sleeves and across the chest.

"Close your mouth Tamaki," Kyoya ordered as he straightened the collar of his shirt. "You're catching flies." He looked up, his eyes widened, he blinked, and then he turned his head slightly so the sun glinted off the lenses of his glasses. Aiden continued to smirk as Haruhi quickly looked at the floor to avoid staring at Kyoya who was dressed a light colored pair of jeans, a black shirt, and a tailored black jacket that reached his thighs. His hair was more disheveled than normal as well.

Hani bounded into the room, breaking the tension. His normally soft blonde hair had been hair sprayed into a spikier texture. He wore black biker boots, green cargo pants, a thick, leather belt, a dark green, long-sleeved shirt with kenji written down the right arm in silver thread, and grey fingerless gloves. "How do I look?" he asked the girls while turning for them.

"Awesome, Hani-senpai. You look like a little punk," Aiden said.

The senior grinned and looked back at the doorway where Mori leaned against the frame. "What about Takashi?" Hani asked.

"Suave," Kallee said, noting the tall senior's stylish dark jeans, black shirt with green designs, and black coat.

"Very," Aiden agreed as Haruhi nodded.

"Shall we?" Hani asked, motioning towards the door.

Kaoru jumped up and leaned on Aiden's shoulder. "Of course," he said.

"Just as soon as," Hikaru leaned his arm on Aiden's other shoulder.

"Everyone stops gawking at each other," Aiden finished. She and the twins cackled as Kallee, Haruhi, Kyoya, and Tamaki jumped. Mori continued to watch Aiden.

"Let's go," Haruhi said and turned towards the door.

Hikaru grinned over Aiden's head. "I think you're right," he said to Kaoru. "She'd do well as being our triplet."

Haruhi's eyes widened. "Uh-oh," she said.

"I think our lives just became a nightmare," Kyoya agreed as he went out the door. Aiden, Hikaru, and Kaoru continued laughing, big Cheshire cat grins on their faces.

* * *

When they arrived at the club, they ran into a little hiccup. The bouncer at the front door stopped them, looking at Hani. "No kids aloud," he said. "You have to be fourteen."

Kallee and Aiden glanced at Hani, then at the bouncer, and then burst out laughing. The bouncer glared at the girls. Most of the club joined them. When Kyoya started to step forward to take care of the situation with a steely expression on his face, Haruhi grabbed his arm. He looked down at her and she shook her head. She nodded at Aiden who was regaining control of herself. Kyoya relaxed his stance and moved Haruhi's hands from his biceps. He held onto one of them and linked it through his arm. He gave her a lopsided smirk and looked back at Aiden.

"He's seventeen," Aiden said, gesturing at Hani.

"I'll need to see some ID."

Aiden's eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at Hani. In Japanese, she asked him, "I don't suppose you have a school ID or something that's written in English."

Hani grinned. "I've got my passport," he said and handed it to the bouncer. The man looked at the cover with interest before flipping it open. He scanned through the information. Finally, he handed it back to Hani.

"Sorry about that," he said. "You can go in now."

"Thank you," Aiden said and led the way inside.

"Well handled," Kallee complimented.

"I don't like scenes," Aiden said.

The club was just as Kallee had promised, cool, new-age, and chic all rolled into one. Visitors could sit at the non-alcoholic bar, at one of the many tables spaced around the edges of the room, on the couches that lined the walls with soft chairs to pull around so groups could enjoy talking to each other, or dance on the dance floor. The music was face-paced and at a good volume, not so loud that it hurt damaged eardrums but loud enough to cover the conversations going on five feet away.

Aiden turned quickly towards the couches and soon found a spot large enough for all them to comfortably sit. However, before she could plop down into relative comfort, Kaoru grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the dance floor with a laugh. Aiden missed the cheeky grin he sent towards Mori. Kyoya, Hani, Hikaru, and Haruhi sat down while Tamaki and Kallee went to get sodas for everyone at the bar.

"This place isn't bad," Hikaru said while looking around.

"If you like this sort of thing," Haruhi said.

"What's not to like?" Hani asked. He was swinging his feet to the beat.

"I prefer peace and quiet," Haruhi told him.

"Have you ever taken the time to enjoy a club?" Hikaru demanded.

"Well, no," she admitted. "I've never had a reason to go to a club before."

"Then we shall educate you," Kyoya said and stood. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet before she could protest and led her to where Kaoru was dancing with Aiden. Hikaru followed after them and pulled his brother and Aiden over to them. Hikaru turned back to Haruhi, ready to teach her how to dance only to see that she was already doing so, and rather well. Shrugging, he joined his twin and Kyoya in dancing with their "sister" and the natural rookie of the club.

"That will end badly," Hani remarked, watching as Hikaru glared at Kyoya when the second year took Haruhi's hand and spun her.

"Ah," Mori agreed.

"Should we do something about it?"

Mori shrugged.

Hani sighed. "I guess you're right. They'll have to figure it out themselves as you and Kao-chan did."

"Ah."

Aiden spotted Kallee and Tamaki heading over to their couches with their arms full of drinks. "I'm thirsty," she told Kaoru and darted away from him. She slid through the growing crowd of people on the dance floor and soon reached the couches. She sat down and stole a bottle of water from Kallee.

"Having fun?" the tall girl asked.

"I am so killing you for making me wear these shoes," she said, stretching her aching feet out in front of her.

"You'd never kill me Ai."

"Keep making me wear shoes like these and I will."

Kallee rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Anyway," she said. "Are we having fun yet?"

"Sure," Aiden said and took a big drink of her water. She sat on the couch next to Hani, leaning her head back. "Wake me up when we're done having fun."

"Aiiiii!" Kallee whined. "You can't abandon Haruhi and me to all these boys!"

"Watch me," Aiden wriggled more comfortably into the couch.

"Oh come on!" Kallee grabbed Aiden's arm and proceeded to try to haul the smaller girl to her feet. Aiden dug her heals in, setting her weight against Kallee's efforts. The pianist smirked as the vocalist tugged. Finally, Kallee gave up. "Fine, be that way." She turned on her heal and headed to where Haruhi, the twins, and Kyoya were still dancing. Tamaki followed her after shrugging at Mori and Hani.

One of Aiden's eyes opened. "Good," she said and sat up straight again.

"Why didn't you want to dance?" Hani asked.

"Because I want to watch Kall for a bit. She's a much better dancer than I am." She rested her chin in her palm and watched her friend. True to her words, Kallee did dance better than her, better than most people at the club.

"I'm going to go dance," Hani said and jumped up. "I'll see you guys in a bit." He bounded out to the others with a laugh.

Aiden grinned and sat back against the cushions again, her hand going to the old silver necklace around her throat without her thinking about it. She didn't notice that Mori glanced her way when she did, or that his expression altered a little, his lips twitching towards a smile. After a while, the twins came back with a tired Haruhi. They sat down on the couches and the group started talking. Aiden finished her water bottle and stood up, heading back to the dance floor. Mori followed her.

About a half an hour later, Aiden decided she was thirsty again. She went back to the couches to find the rest of the drinks had been claimed or emptied. Shrugging, she turned towards the bar. The bartender was busy with a large group so she just leaned against the counter, waiting for him to finish with them.

"Aiden Scadden." A voice behind her spoke with smug confidence and a little surprise.

Aiden looked over her shoulder to see a boy about her age with shaggy, dirty blond hair and brown eyes. He was about eight inches taller than her. Her nose wrinkled at the sight of him. "What on Earth do you want?" she asked.

"Just to talk. You haven't been around lately." He said, leaning on the counter next to her.

"With trash like you around, who'd want to live around here?" She started to move away from the counter but he caught her wrist.

"Come on Aiden. Dance with me."

"Not in your life."

"You know you want to."

Aiden leveled a dark glare at him. "Not if you were the last creature in the universe. Let go." She tried to jerk her hand back from him.

"You really should be nicer to me."

"Why would I be nice to someone that hurt my best friend?" she snapped and yanked her arm away from him. She started to turn away from him. Suddenly, she felt another arm stronger than that of the boy she'd been arguing with, wrap around her shoulders and pull her sideways. At the same time, she heard a dull thud. The guy she'd been talking to yelped.

"What was that for?" he demanded, rubbing his forearm where a red mark was starting to show.

"Let her be."

Aiden looked up and found Mori standing between her and the other youth.

"We were just talking."

Aiden didn't need to see Mori's face to picture his stoic expression.

"Whatever," the youth said. "Who do you think you are anyway?"

"Her boyfriend," Mori said. Aiden set her facial muscles knowing that showing surprise would ruin Mori's lie.

The youth looked from Aiden to Mori and back a few times. Finally, he snorted. "I don't believe it. Aiden's never dated a guy in her life. Who would want to date that scrawny brat anyway?"

"Me." Mori tried to keep Aiden behind him but she darted under his arm.

"It's okay, Mori," she said to him only. "He wouldn't dare touch me." He still pulled her back against his chest protectively. She turned back to the youth to say something else.

"You want something Miss?"

Aiden turned towards the bartender, a little irritated at being interrupted.

"Two bottles of water," Mori said. He handed the man some money and accepted the water, handing one to Aiden. He motioned for her to go ahead of him. As they walked past the youth Aiden had been arguing with, Mori gave him a dark look and placed his arm around Aiden's shoulders.

Aiden stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Oh, and if you go near Kallee, I'll hunt you down and make good on my promise." Her voice was low and she and Mori went back to their friends at the couches.

"Then I'll just have to go for the smaller girl with you, won't I?" he said under his breath, spying Haruhi at the group of couches Aiden and Mori were heading for.

* * *

"Aiden?" Mori asked, his arm still draped across her shoulders.

"He's a creep that dated Kallee before the last time I moved back here. He messed her up pretty bad in the head, got her to think she was worthless. When I got here, I found out what was going on and got Kall out of the relationship and told him that if he ever came near her again, I'd make sure he was incapable of doing anything of the sort to anyone else. Please, don't tell Kall that he's here."

Mori nodded but didn't say anything as they reached the couches with just enough time for the others to say they were heading back onto the dance floor. Aiden sat down and opened her water bottle as she watched the twins tease Tamaki about his preference for her best friend.

* * *

Haruhi was enjoying herself despite the fact that she wasn't doing anything truly constructive. Kyoya and Hikaru had kept her dancing for most of the time, teaching her different steps and styles. She'd been dancing with Hikaru, but he'd left to find something for them to drink. She'd stayed on the dance floor while she waited, still dancing when a hand tapped her on the shoulder.

She looked up at a youth with dirty blonde hair. An alarm went off in her head. Hadn't she seen Mori step between Aiden and this guy when he'd reached for Aiden when she'd turned away from him?

"Wanna dance?" he asked.

Haruhi floundered for a moment. There had to be a reason that Aiden had argued with this guy. The pianist had looked really mad when he'd been talking to her. For the life of her though, Haruhi couldn't think of a polite way to refuse.

"I'm afraid she's already taken."

Haruhi glanced over her shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief. Kyoya stood behind her, a glare fixed on his face.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, sorry." Haruhi flashed a quick smile before turning towards Kyoya.

"Some other time then."

Haruhi gave a non-committal hum, took the hand Kyoya held out for her and followed him through the crowds of people, closer to the couch. They missed the curse the boy muttered under his breath at their backs.

Kyoya stopped before they reached the edge of the dance floor.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Take a look." Kyoya motioned to the couch. Haruhi looked and watched as Mori ran a hand along the top of Aiden's head as she talked to him. The pianist blushed a little but otherwise ignored the hand.

"Would you look at that," she said with a grin. "Let's give them some space," she suggested and moved back to where she could see Kaoru, Kallee and Tamaki dancing. "Maybe they'll end up dating by the end of the night."

Kyoya shrugged as he followed Haruhi.

* * *

Vannen: And that's the end for now. I promise to try to update more often. I just never realized how busy one can get once married. Anyway, I'll do better. Please review!


End file.
